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He Is, Quite literally, a Senior in College World War
II Vet Returns to Finish Up
By Michelle Healy, USA TODAY April 30, 2003 One of the students looking forward to Baylor University's commencement on May 17 is an 82-year-old World War II veteran on an athletic scholarship. Weldon Bigony is in the home stretch of a college career that began in 1938, but was interrupted in 1941, his senior year, by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Back in 1941, ''I tried to get the draft board to defer me until I finished the last six months of school,'' says Bigony, ''but they wouldn't.'' So Bigony left Baylor, which he attended on a football scholarship, and enlisted so he could pick the service of his choice, the Naval Air Corps. That decision led to a successful 40-year career as a pilot, first for the Navy, then commercially. Along the way he married, raised three children, lived in five countries and indulged a lifelong love of sports. After retiring at age 61, he volunteered at nursing homes, hospitals and prisons. Nothing, however, erased his determination to earn his degree. He says he was inspired, in part, by his late mother, Bessie May Bigony, who entered college in her 70s and lived to age 99. A year ago, Bigony, a widower, decided to turn his long-deferred dream into a reality. Readmission took some time, says his daughter, Vicky Peters, but ''lo and behold, he got a call just before classes were to begin last August.'' Baylor administrators thought that ''this was an incredible story and that it would be wonderful to be able to put an exclamation point on it,'' says spokeswoman Lori Scott-Fogleman. With his long-ago athletic scholarship renewed to cover tuition and books, Bigony picked up 12 credits in the fall and his final 12 credits this spring. Classes included religion, marketing, real estate and computers. ''It's been a fantastic experience,'' he says. ''Each time I walk the campus, I reminisce about when I was here before.'' ''He's an inspiration,'' says Scott-Fogleman. ''You see him walking with his backpack, eating lunch in the student center, studying. He's really a student first. His classmates enjoy getting to know him.'' Bigony says the workload has been demanding -- especially mastering the new world of computers. He says he couldn't have done it without the support of his daughter and her husband. Vicky and James Peters moved 350 miles from Big Spring to Waco to help out. They're sharing a home with Bigony. Vicky credits her father's determination -- ''When he puts his mind to something, he just does it.'' Bigony, who gave up running after hip-replacement surgery 10 years ago, is an avid race walker who trains at least three times a week. He has qualified for two races at the National Senior Games in Hampton Roads, Va., in June. After the competition, Bigony, his daughter and son-in-law are moving to the West Coast to be closer to other family members, and Bigony plans to return to the world of volunteer work. For now, though, the focus is on completing his degree. ''The pressure is on with finals coming,'' says Bigony. ''I asked for it, I've been granted the opportunity. Now I just have to do it.'' Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
