I think UC deserves some props for this one.

Elbert Bowen got his college degree Friday. He wore a black cap and a black gown and accepted his diploma from the University of Cincinnati, sobbing through most of the ceremony.

For him, this was a big deal.

Here's why: He is 57. He started taking classes at UC in 1972 . He spent two decades of his life battling a drug addiction.


He is dying.

After a hard life of bad choices and liver problems and - eventually - sobriety and employment as a drug counselor, Bowen is living at Harmony Court in Roselawn. He's receiving hospice care, which means his future will be measured in weeks, maybe months, but not years. He's having a hard time accepting this. About a month ago, he met with his social worker and told her he felt like a failure.

Like his life didn't amount to anything.

One of his biggest regrets? Not getting that college degree.

Workers at Vitas Innovative Hospice Care and UC administrators changed that Friday.

Bowen had enough credits at UC for a bachelor's degree, but not all the right classes, so officials there helped fill in the gaps, pushing courses into empty spaces and completing his transcript like a puzzle.


http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../704070333