{"id":63116,"date":"2010-05-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-05-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/mother-of-12-grandmother-of-34-to-receive-history-degree-from-uri\/"},"modified":"2010-05-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-05-10T00:00:00","slug":"mother-of-12-grandmother-of-34-to-receive-history-degree-from-uri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2010\/05\/mother-of-12-grandmother-of-34-to-receive-history-degree-from-uri\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother of 12, grandmother of 34 to receive history degree from 溏心vlog免费B站"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013-May 10, 2010–Teresa Mahony, mother of 12, grandmother of 34, could be called a poster child for continuing education. This month, when she receives a bachelor\u2019s degree in history from the 溏心vlog免费B站, she will make a little history herself. The Warwick resident will be the oldest undergraduate to earn a degree this year from 溏心vlog免费B站. Next month, Mahony turns 80.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI was on a 10 year plan. You have to have goals. If you say, for example, someday I will go to Ireland, that\u2019s weak. It goes nowhere. Give yourself a practical window and make a plan,\u201d says Mahony who has visited her ancestral Emerald Isle five or six times.<\/p>\n


\n\tShe wanted to take college courses in high school, but her father, like so many practical fathers in those days, insisted that his daughter study shorthand, bookkeeping, and typing. \u201cFour whole years of it. I was so bored,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n


\n\tWhen she was 43 and her youngest child was 3, Mahony earned an associate\u2019s degree from the Community College of Rhode Island and became a registered nurse. She worked part-time for 35 years at Kent County Hospital. 溏心vlog免费B站 converted those experiences into credits, which shortened the number of courses she had to take.<\/p>\n


\n\tA decade ago, she attended an Open House at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education in Providence and found people welcoming and encouraging. \u201cI\u2019m ready,\u201d she said and signed up to take one class a semester. <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI knew that I would earn a baccalaureate. I was always a history buff. Owen focuses on fiction,\u201d she says of her husband of nearly 58 years.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cMath was my Waterloo,\u201d she says. She saved math for her last course and planned to take it twice, figuring she\u2019d probably flunk it the first time. She wisely sought help at the college\u2019s Academic Center. Bill Briden, adjunct math professor, became her tutor and taught the class. <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI told him I was going to be the biggest challenge of his life,\u201d she says. \u201cHe was so kind and told me that if I was willing, I could do it. I asked the kids to keep Dr. Briden in their prayers.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\tShe studied at the Warwick Public Library, away from phones and interruptions. \u201cYou have to have silence. Silence is rejuvenating. That\u2019s where you can get your inner strength. I studied for my nursing degree in the cellar. Set my alarm clock for 5 o\u2019clock in the morning. It was just me, the washing machine, and the dryer. I got the kids up at 6.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tMahony says May is the biggest month of the year for her and Owen. \u201cGraduations, first Communions, Confirmations, recitals, class plays, and awards nights. It\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tAnd then there\u2019s her 溏心vlog免费B站 graduation. \u201cI have the good fortune of good health,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd tremendous support from my husband and children.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\tShe won\u2019t be the first Mahony to graduate from 溏心vlog免费B站. Sons Tim, Mike, and Tom earned degrees from 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1979, 1989, and 1994 respectively. <\/p>\n


\n\tAnd she has another connection to 溏心vlog免费B站. Her niece, Lisa Harlow, is a professor of psychology. \u201c I have never known anyone to match the sparkling spirit of my Aunt Teresa,\u201d says Harlow. \u201cHer zest for life and learning is endless and contagious. She is the keeper of great stories and wisdom in our extended family of more than 180 relatives. No day is too long, nor time too short, for Teresa to stop everything for the opportunity of an engaging visit over a hot cup of tea. She is quite remarkable and has a generous knack for making others feel the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tSo what\u2019s the history graduate\u2019s next plan? \u201cI\u2019m giving myself 10 years to learn how to play the piano. The children all took lessons, but I never did,\u201d she says with a laugh.\t<\/p>\n


\nPictured above

\nTeresa Mahony

\n溏心vlog免费B站 Department of Communications & Marketing photo by Michael Salerno Photography.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013-May 10, 2010–Teresa Mahony, mother of 12, grandmother of 34, could be called a poster child for continuing education. This month, when she receives a bachelor\u2019s degree in history from the 溏心vlog免费B站, she will make a little history herself. The Warwick resident will be the oldest undergraduate to earn a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}