It speaks volumes that (Bridgewater) is willing to educate anybody who wants to learn. It says a lot about a school that’s willing to give a veteran a shot at finishing what he started.
At 60 years old, Ronald Pace, ’26, is more than twice the age of many of his classmates. But his dream resonates across generations: to earn a college degree in hopes of bettering his life.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for me,” said Ronald, who hopes to leverage his BSU education to work in project management. “Once I get the degree, the (job) opportunities just open up.”
A disabled veteran, Ronald joined the military after high school and served in the Army and Coast Guard. He went on to work as a truck driver and owned a handyman business. He started taking college classes in Colorado but had to withdraw and move to Massachusetts for family reasons.
Now living in Brockton, Ronald is using veterans benefits to complete a degree in management at Bridgewater State. The transition, he said, has been remarkably easy thanks to support from Military & Veteran Student Services and Transfer Services at BSU.
Ronald said Transfer Services Director Jeff Sarahs, ’10, G’12, “sat with me for an hour and, before I left that room, we had classes.”
Those courses include English, economics, international relations and critical thinking. He praised his classmates for helping him navigate the campus and even showing him how to order food from the on-campus Starbucks using his phone.
“I’ve got really good professors and really good classmates,” he said. “They don’t call me grandpa, yet.”
BSU even helped him with parking because he struggles to walk long distances.
No matter the physical challenges, Ronald draws on his inner determination to propel him toward a bachelor’s degree.
“Don’t give up on yourself at any time,” he said. “That’s my philosophy. I can show up here and fail, but at least I tried, which is better than never trying at all.”
Ultimately, the culture of acceptance at Bridgewater has made his college experience rewarding.
“It speaks volumes that (Bridgewater) is willing to educate anybody who wants to learn,” he said. “It says a lot about a school that’s willing to give a veteran a shot at finishing what he started.”
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