Thomas Chartrand, 51, returned to college late in life and obtained his associate’s degree from Roane State Community College in May. (Photo by Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

At age 51 with his new Roane State Community College associate degree in hand, Thomas Chartrand said he has learned a valuable life lesson.

“When anything gets hard in life, you can’t give up,” the Oak Ridge resident said. “If you give up, you’ll never have a chance to reach your goals and dreams.”

Despite numerous challenges, starting with a rough-and-tumble childhood, he didn’t give up.

Chartrand took night classes at Roane State after work while helping wife Keri raise their two young children, Tristan and Kyla. He recalls often studying past midnight. Now, he says, “I feel much better about myself, knowing that I earned my degree. The last thing you want to do is look back and wished you’d done it,” he said. “It’s never too late.”

It took him five years to earn his degree in contemporary management. That’s because he was often working overtime at his day job, attending and coaching his son’s sports games, and balancing work commitments. That’s why he had to cut down on the number of credit hours he could take each semester.

One class, Probability and Statistics, proved a temporary setback. Even though he had to take it again, he finished his Roane State career with a 3.4 grade point average. He said he was on the President’s List once and the Dean’s List twice. “With the help of all the great instructors and my advisor, David Rath, I was given the support that I can do this, and I did!” Chartrand said. [Read more…]