Behaving like a typical senior citizen, however, was never part of Nelson's plan. She said she would rather discuss Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton or King Arthur than play Bingo or tennis or go swimming. Upon encouragement from her daughter, who was an academic adviser at Penn State, Nelson began to enroll in continuing education and distance learning courses, not devoid of a few raised eyebrows from her peers.
"All of my friends said, 'What a hoot!' " Nelson said with a chuckle.
Janet Hartranft, assistant professor in the school of visual arts, was Nelson's professor for Art 122W (Commentary on Art). Hartranft said she doesn't feel uncomfortable instructing students older than her.
"I see it more as an opportunity than as something to surpass," Hartranft said. "I'm in a position to be able to learn from them, too, just as I learn from all of my students."
After Nelson accumulated several credits, Jean Duffy, continuing education department adult counselor, suggested she work toward graduating with an associate degree in letters, arts and sciences, a major composed of a variety of general education requirements.
Nelson was recently named Student Marshall, representing associate degree programs, in the College of Liberal Arts and will carry the banner on commencement day.
"She's a person of great persistence, great drive, very focused," Duffy said.
Duffy added that having adult students in the classroom is beneficial to everyone.
"She's a very wise individual," Duffy said. "She walks in there with a lot of wonderful life experiences that enriches the entire learning process."
Nelson remembers her favorite place to live, State College, in the 1950s. Then, the town did not have much more than a hardware store and a barbershop. University Drive, she said, was all mud and weeds and was where she used to practice driving. State College was also dry at the time, she said.
"The only way you could get a drink would be to go into Bellefonte," she said.
Nelson, in turn, said she has also been on the receiving end of enrichment in the classroom, once when she was taking a class about Eastern religions.
"I learned what marijuana smells like — the place reeked of it," Nelson said.
As for reactions from fellow classmates, Nelson said her experience has been nothing but positive. She said she has found the young adults she interacted with over the years to be intelligent and motivated, unlike how the media often portrays them. One young man, whom Nelson worked with on a group project, particularly impressed her.
"I said to him, 'Where were you when I was 19?' "
When she's not practicing her needlepoint, ballroom dancing or square dancing, Nelson is feverishly studying, but she said she pays little attention to her grades. Her love of learning is why she is here, she explained, and this love won't end on graduation day.
Although she will take a semester off to travel with her husband, she plans to return to State College next spring to take more classes.
Nelson said she hopes being Student Marshall will bring more attention to the continuing education program as well as be a symbol of her appreciation to Duffy and to the program for helping her earn her degree.
"It's a little payback for continuing education," she said.
Still, carrying a banner doesn't seem to excite Nelson as much as knowing her two young granddaughters will attend the ceremony.
"I'm going to let them try the hat on," she said.
