Gloria Randall Hewitt

She graduated in the top 5 percent of her high school class, but didn't go on to college.  Decades later, she earned her degree and graduated with a 4.0

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Nearly two decades after Gloria Randall-Hewitt began pursuing a college education, she completed that journey with a remarkable set of accomplishments in May 2009.

At Carthage's 2009 Honors Convocation, Ms. Randall-Hewitt was honored with the Distinguished Adult Learner award, and received the College's highest academic honor, the Carthage Scholarship Award. All graduating seniors with a grade point average of 3.60 or better are eligible for the latter award, which is decided by an essay competition.

Both awards were a surprise for Ms. Randall-Hewitt, especially the Scholarship Award.

"I thought, 'I'm an old lady, working 60 hours a week, there's no way I’m going to beat those kids," she recalled.

After those achievements, graduation three weeks later might have seemed a bit anti-climactic, but not for Ms. Randall-Hewitt.

"I couldn't be happier," she says. "Carthage was a perfect fit for me. The courses were applicable to my life. I'm going to miss it."

'If you're going to do something, you should do the best you can'

Michael West, Carthage associate vice president for Adult Education, remarked at the Honors Convocation that "while she missed her original goal of graduating by the time she turned 50, she did achieve her goal of earning a 4.0 GPA."

Ms. Randall-Hewitt plays down that achievement.

"I'm not a perfectionist, but if you're going to do something, you should do the best you can," she said.

Ms. Randall-Hewitt will graduate from the Loyola MBA for Executives Program at Carthage in February 2011.

In the mid-1970s, Ms. Randall-Hewitt attended high schools in three states before her father retired from the military and settled in Beaver Dam, Wis.

"I graduated in the top 5 percent in my class, but wasn't sure what I wanted to study," she says. "So I decided to take a year off to figure out what I wanted to do. Instead I met someone and got married."

Ms. Randall-Hewitt says her then-husband discouraged her from returning to school, contending it would be too expensive. In 1992, she started her college education at a community college in suburban Chicago, although her youngest children were 2 and 4 at the time.

"The cost was so reasonable, the objection was gone," she said. "I started with one class a semester."

In 1996, she moved to Wisconsin, and continued studies at a technical college and a two-year University of Wisconsin campus. After a divorce, she moved to Racine in 2001, and tried one class at another institution.

"I didn't like it," Ms. Randall-Hewitt recalled. "There were about 80 people in my class; about three or four were my age. I wanted to be with people who could relate to my experience."

'Exactly what I was looking for'

In 2004, Ms. Randall-Hewitt had earned about 40 credits when she enrolled at the College.

"I was impressed that you could complete the whole thing at night," she said. "The very first class I took was Introduction to World Religions. It was a mix of adult and traditional-age students. I was impressed by Prof. Christian von Dehsen, who did a fantastic job of challenging preconceived notions, and giving us fresh ways of looking at other religions and cultures. This was exactly what I was looking for, the kind of education I wanted to have."

Ms. Randall-Hewitt is glad she finally pursued higher education.

"So many times I'd apply for something, but they wouldn’t consider you without a degree," she said. "I knew I was smart enough to do it, but I couldn't prove it."

Mr. West said Ms. Randall-Hewitt "gained the respect of her peers and professors. She sets the standard for what adult students can achieve, and represents the best and the brightest Carthage has to offer."

Ms. Randall-Hewitt said she hopes she is a model for one of her daughters, who is 23, has a child and lacks a degree.

"My daughter said to me, 'You're a great inspiration to me, that I can finish, too.' "

— Bill Kurtz, Carthage College

"The very first class I took was Introduction to World Religions. It was a mix of adult and traditional-age students. I was impressed by Prof. Christian von Dehsen, who did a fantastic job of challenging preconceived notions, and giving us fresh ways of looking at other religions and cultures. This was exactly what I was looking for, the kind of education I wanted to have."

— Gloria Randall-Hewitt, '09