Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

If there’s anything nearly all students can relate to, it’s the stress of class requirements, grades and graduation. This is often related to the further stress of thinking about where graduation will then take us, and our entrance into the real world.

Some students, however, have already been into the real world and have found that it still leads back to Western. In most cases, these nontraditional students are also aiming for a degree of some kind. This is not the case for student Paul McNeil, who is taking classes purely for the purpose of continuing his education. As this is an experience I can’t relate to, I asked for an interview to get a different perspective.

With a backpack full of textbooks, McNeil, despite the age difference to most students, seems to fit in with the college kids lounging in the Werner University Center — maybe because he has been attending college classes for years, and not just at Western. He continued studying long after earning a degree in physics, a major he picked because, according to McNeil, “it challenged me the most.”

“I could drop into any department (at Western) and find something interesting to study,” McNeil said in regards to the contrast in his classes. Though his physics degree took him through careers in technology and engineering, he now takes courses such as Economic Geography and Transnational Migration. He was drawn to these classes by the desire to learn about “how the world is set up financially,” he mentioned, and how this affects global inequality and society.

McNeil audits the classes, meaning he doesn’t have to worry about a grade — although, as he points out, the instructor is still free to call on him and ask for contribution to the discussion, and so the familiar mantra of “make sure you do the reading” is echoed in this situation.

As a senior citizen, McNeil also gets to audit classes for free with permission of the professor. This is a point he emphasized, as it is a little known fact that others might be able to take advantage of. He revealed there are other additional benefits of auditing classes.

“My initial thought…was that getting a student card would allow me access to the university’s library database,” he said, appreciating the extensiveness of Hamersly Library and noting that not every library has such range.

Overall, the conversation, for me, turned out to be a much needed reminder that studying for a degree is important, but continuing education for personal self growth is as well. Before parting, McNeil commented that students these days have a wealth of information at their fingertips, and that it can be beneficial to explore all options: “Students shouldn’t feel so pressured to choose …there is so much information to explore, and finding the right thing can take some time.”

Contact the author at howllifestyle@mail.wou.edu