![\"Graduation](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Graduation-Cap_blue-500x500-e1586882554282.png\")
<\/a>CELEBRATING SUCCESS:<\/strong> UToledo recognizes the Class of 2021 with a series of stories featuring students receiving their degrees at\u00a0fall commencement<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n Two years later, O\u2019Brien, now 70, will graduate with his bachelor\u2019s degree in liberal studies from UToledo this month.<\/p>\n From having a rebellious childhood and dropping out of high school to receiving his GED in 1971, life hasn\u2019t always been a straight path for O\u2019Brien. Leaving the restaurant industry after 45 years, he took the opportunity to go back to school and receive his college degree.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a great opportunity to fulfill my dream and cover the one regret I had in my life,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cAnd I didn\u2019t feel like I was totally done with my learning career when I got my associate\u2019s degree. It was an easy choice that I needed to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien, who lives in Chardon and took all his classes online, decided to continue his education in liberal studies because it combined many of his academic interests including writing and research. Because of the broad course offerings in the program, he chose classes that were challenging and piqued his interest.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main thing is that I like to find out things for myself and make decisions for myself,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cI chose classes that I was attracted to but also chose things that were out of the box.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien<\/p><\/div>\n Being an online student and older than many of his peers presented challenges for O\u2019Brien but he didn\u2019t let anything \u2014 even a computer issue \u2014 get in his way. Faculty and staff from both UToledo and LCCC, and even his daughter, were eager to help him through any problem he faced.<\/p>\n Jackie Thompson, formerly O\u2019Brien\u2019s academic advisor and now working in the Judith Herb College of Education, was his main source of support. Whether it was working through the application process to UToledo or a question about a class, O\u2019Brien knew he could always find guidance from Thompson.<\/p>\n \u201cTerry was one of the most committed and persistent students with a true passion for education that I have met in a long time,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cTerry\u2019s passion and success came from a place of a true desire to learn and a genuine interest to soak up the subjects of his courses. His unique perspectives not only made him fun to work with but will help him in being successful outside of the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n As this chapter ends, O\u2019Brien is ready for the next one to begin. What he will do next is still in the works, but his list is long \u2014 including getting back to his love of music, playing guitar for patients at local hospitals, traveling and even going to graduate school for liberal arts or clinical mental health counseling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always one day at a time,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cThere\u2019s no guarantees about tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n While O\u2019Brien dons his cap and gown to celebrate his achievements with his family at Commencement on Dec. 18, he\u2019ll be celebrating something else as well \u2014 his 71st birthday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll just be happy to wear that cap and gown and be on campus,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to have that feeling of being at the University.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leaving the restaurant industry after 45 years, Terry O\u2019Brien took the opportunity to “cover the one regret” in his life by going back to school to receive his college degree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":883,"featured_media":70415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,69,1,71,62,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/883"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70408"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70481,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70408\/revisions\/70481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a>