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BKB & Company, one of many retail outlets on the UW Tacoma campus, has the only Art-o-Mat machine in the state. For $5 you can own a piece of original art.
BKB & Company, one of many retail outlets on the UW Tacoma campus, has the only Art-o-Mat machine in the state. For $5 you can own a piece of original art.
“I was never treated as the old guy,” he says. “It was refreshing to see the younger generation’s point of view.”
Rudy Nevarez, 78, had dreamed his entire life of earning a four-year degree. In June 2007, that dream came true as Nevarez became the UW Tacoma Milgard School of Business’ oldest graduate. Family and friends converged from around the country to cheer him on. He’s the first in his family to graduate from college.
Seeking opportunity and an escape from the racial discrimination prevalent in his home town, El Paso, Texas, Nevarez left school in ninth grade and joined the U.S. Navy. He hadn’t returned to a school classroom until he enrolled at Olympic College in his early 70s.
Nevarez started at UW Tacoma’s Milgard School of Business fall quarter 2005, after an economics professor at Olympic College recommended UW Tacoma.
“I decided I might as well go for it. It takes an hour to drive from my home in Bremerton to UW Tacoma. The first day, I nearly made a U-turn when I reached the Narrows Bridge,” Nevarez said.
But he crossed the bridge.
He remembers reporting for his first day of classes in pressed trousers.
“I decided the students and professors would have to accept me for who I am,” he said.
UW Tacoma students often learn by taking on group projects, and Nevarez became a popular team member. Students invited him to study sessions after class.
He knew the students had really accepted him when one asked, “How about going partying with us?”
He told them, “I’ve got a long drive home, so I’ll shoot the breeze with you over a soft drink at The Swiss.”
Nevarez, who spent 31 years in active duty with the Navy and 20 more years working for the Department of Defense, retiring in 1998, said he may look for a new gig and work a few more years.
His wife, Pat, said, “It took a lot of guts for him to walk into a classroom in his 70s. I don’t know how he did it. I just know it’s something he’s wanted to do for a long time.”
If UW Tacoma fits your academic goals and life situation, take the next step. Check out the degrees open to you and then visit the campus for a true UW Tacoma experience.
