Freda Smith Receives College Degree at Age 85!

It's never too late! Freda Staples Smith is undoubtedly the most senior member of Thomas College's senior class. Smith, 85, a resident of Sunset Home in Waterville, Maine received her Associate of Ar

It's never too late! Freda Staples Smith is undoubtedly the most senior member of Thomas College's senior class. Smith, 85, a resident of Sunset Home in Waterville, Maine received her Associate of Arts degree cum laude at a special ceremony at the residential care facility in December. Smith, a 1940 graduate of Waterville High School, assembled credits from both Colby College and Nasson College before attending Thomas. “Her mother made her promise to attend Colby for at least two years so she enrolled and studied French," explained Smith’s daughter Sherry Darby. But Colby was not for her, so she transferred to Nasson College, formerly in Springvale, Maine, and enrolled in the dietician program. As Freda Staples, she attended Nasson; her then boyfriend, W. Leigh Smith, was enrolled at Gorham Normal School, now the University of Southern Maine at Gorham. Though he was a college student exempt from the draft, he was called to military service during World War II. He was sent to basic training at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland. While in training, he contracted meningitis and was told he would never walk again. Staples dropped out of school to be with him and said "I will not marry a cripple," which gave him the determination to get better and walk again. They married and both started working at Keyes Fiber in Fairfield. Smith was the secretary to the engineering department. She stopped working at Keyes for several years to raise her two children, Sherry and Scott, but eventually went back so that she could afford to send them to college. Smith placed a high value on education. Perhaps it was her upbringing—her mother, Margaret Staples, had been the chair of the English department at Lawrence High School for many years. Smith insisted that her children pursue higher education. "Our parents were always very supportive. They told me that I would never be compared to my older sister—I could do what I wanted, but I should strive to be the best at whatever that was," says Scott. Smith expected a lot of her children; she valued education and wanted to instill those values in her children-and she did a good job of it. It wasn't until after her husband passed away that Smith's attention turned again to her own education. She enrolled part-time at Thomas from 1979-1983 to pursue a bachelor's degree, but never completed all the required courses for the bachelor program and, thus, never received a diploma. Smith’s daughter initiated the degree presentation. "I started going through my mother's folders and kept coming across the transcripts. I looked at them and decided something had to be done." Darby then contacted Thomas College. After review by Tom Edwards, Thomas’ vice president for Academic Affairs he contacted Sherry with the news that Smith had acquired the needed coursework to earn her Associate of Arts degree. And with a cumulative grade point average of 3.24, that she would graduate cum laude (with honors. Darby was thrilled to receive the news and worked with Thomas and Sunset Home to put the event together. Thomas President George Spann along with Edwards attended the graduation event and surrounded by Smith’s family, friends, and Sunset Home residents and staff, presented Smith, dressed in cap, gown, and honor cord, with her long-awaited diploma. The family kept the presentation a secret until the night before. Smith was thrilled and cried tears of joy, which started up again when the ceremony began. "I never dreamed I would be handed anything like this," Smith said through her tears. "My mother would be awfully proud of me." "This is huge for her," Darby said. "I've only seen my mother cry twice." Smith’s son led a celebratory toast and Darby thanked the Sunset Home staff for planning the celebration. On her children’s appreciation, Smith said, “See, I brought them up right!" Edwards joked that perhaps Smith would be awarded with a new car as a graduation gift. He also teased "now we just need to settle those unpaid library fines...with compounded interest!"

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