Great-grandmother now a graduate

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, July 6, 2006

Some young whippersnapper thought fellow college student Charlotte Maine should be home baking cookies.

She showed him.

Maine started bringing store-bought Albertson’s chocolate chip goodies to class. Nobody knew they weren’t homemade.

I’m sure Maine could have squeezed in cooking time. This is a whiz of an organized woman who recently earned her associate degree from Columbia College in Marysville, where she studied criminal justice.

The Marysville widow is 67.

Great-grandchild Brionna Olson, 5, was at the graduation ceremony and whooped and hollered for the matriarch of eight when Maine was handed her diploma.

“Graduation was the most touching thing in my life,” Maine said. “Everyone was yelling and screaming.”

Columbia College just celebrated its 30th anniversary. It offers associate, bachelor and master of business administration degrees in Marysville and at Naval Station Everett. The next semester begins Aug. 14 with evening and Saturday classes as well as more than 350 online courses.

Columbia came to Washington in the mid-1970s, with programs in Spokane, Vancouver and Fort Lewis. Campuses were consolidated at Sand Point Naval Station in Seattle, with enrollments coming mostly from Navy folks and their dependents. When Sand Point closed in 1995, Columbia relocated to Naval Station Everett and later to the Navy Support Complex in Marysville.

After Maine’s husband of 42 years, Bud, died in 1999, she continued working full time in a dental office. On a trip to Peru with her son, she visited Inca ruins by herself for three days. She discovered she could accomplish things by herself.

Maine kept occupied with volunteer work, church, grandchildren and trips with friends, but through the years, kicked herself as acquaintances realized her own dream: going to college and becoming a teacher. She noticed a sign for Columbia, dropped by, and began a class the next day.

“I called all my kids,” Maine said. “I told them I was starting school.”

That first computer course almost did her in, Maine said, with young students talking over her head. She said she didn’t care what was inside a computer, but persevered and passed.

Algebra made her groan. College life evolved to wonderful when she tackled environmental science, philosophy and criminal justice.

Maine said she loves Columbia’s small classes, ample parking and nice campus. Professors cut her no slack, she said. Maine laughed when she said she worries about dying before her student loans are paid off.

Director Thomas Larsen said Columbia College offers a half-price tuition deal for those 65 and older.

“Columbia College does have a senior discount, and it’s quite significant,” Larsen said. “Though (community college) undergrad tuition is very competitive and a good bargain compared to other area colleges and universities, education is still expensive. (Community college) current undergrad tuition is $160 per semester credit hours. So for a three-semester credit course, the tuition is $480.”

With her associate degree in hand, Maine aims to work for the court system, perhaps as an advocate for foster children. Shirley Dockendorf of Stanwood said her Christian friend of 30 years would do anything for anybody.

“She’s a goer,” Dockendorf said. “I thought going to college was a tremendous thing for a woman her age to do.”

Maine, a list maker, said there are a number of things she must do before she meets her maker. She scratched off one after she spent two weeks long-haul trucking with her son, truck stop showers and all.

She rode a Harley. Check another goal off the list. And she wants to spend a winter where snow stays on the porch.

In her college life, she hasn’t dated other students and never attended a school dance. She keeps busy enough volunteering for St. Vincent de Paul and doing her coursework. She said there’s no time for idle television viewing and she prefers it that way.

“I’m going to go while the going is good,” Maine said.

She aims to get her bachelor’s degree in criminal administration. It’s a good thing Franklin High School in Seattle kept old records. Maine needed her 1957 transcript to get into college.

Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.