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    • AVON PARK, Fla. – Oct. 16, 2024 – At age 78, Lynne Bennett is on her way to earning a college degree. More specifically, she’s pursuing an Associate in Arts from South Florida State College (SFSC).

    Two years ago, Bennett’s husband of 52 years died after a long illness. Bennett spent a year grieving and then considered, “What am I going to do with the rest of my life? I could live another 100 years. I’m healthy.”

    She pondered, “Do I have any regrets in life?” She and her husband, Maurie, had a happy marriage. They were proud of their two children and three grandchildren. However, Bennett had always wanted to go to college.

    Bennett and her four sisters, born in Pensacola, Fla., were the children of a Naval officer. When her parents divorced, her mother took the five girls to live with their grandparents in northern Indiana. “My parents couldn’t afford to send any of us to college,” Bennett said. “And back then, you either chose a commercial course or you chose the path to college. I didn’t think I could go to college because I didn’t have the money. So, I chose the commercial course – a secretarial program.”

    After completing her program, Bennett worked as a stenographer, a clerk typist, and at Whirlpool on the order desk. When she was 20 years old, she was hired by Lake Central Airlines as a flight attendant based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. She worked for the airlines for 2 1/2 years. Lake Central Airlines flew out of Indianapolis, Ind., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Cincinnati. Years later, it became part of American Airlines.

    “That’s when I met my husband,” Bennett said. “He was a pilot with the airlines, based out of Indianapolis.” Bennett laughed when she fondly recalled their first date. “We went to the Indy 500 practice at the Indianapolis Speedway.”

    “When my husband and I became engaged, flight attendants could be married but couldn’t have children,” she said. “After we were married, I worked for the airlines for a couple of months until my husband’s 10-year-old son, Brian, from a previous marriage moved in with us.” The couple later welcomed their baby daughter, Diane, into the family.

    Over the years, the Bennetts became recreational vehicle (RV) enthusiasts, traveling to various parts of the United States and Canada. They moved to Lake Placid, Fla. in 2001 to winter in Florida and travel during the summer.

    “It’s so nice here that we thought Lake Placid would be a great place to live,” Bennett said. “It’s the center of the state and the area hadn’t had a hurricane in 40 years. We moved to Lake Placid in December and the following summer, we had three hurricanes.”

    When they moved to Lake Placid, Bennett noticed SFSC’s Lake Placid Center and considered taking a class. But the Bennetts were always traveling in their RV. “Or, the minute we moved here, our house became a revolving door,” Bennett said. “Friends and family came down for the winter, so we had company all the time. We knew a lot of airline people who drove RVs, so we’d often have four or five RVs in our driveway. We’d also participate in RV rallies. Sometimes, we were on the road a year, sometimes six months. Once, we went to Alaska and spent the summer there. I had a busy life.”

    But after Maurie died, Bennett didn’t want to RV by herself. She felt she’d seen everything in the United States but had never been outside North America. “I wanted to see Ireland, Scotland, and continental Europe before I got too much older,” she said.

    Bennett’s opportunity to see Ireland became a reality when her granddaughter’s Irish dancing group participated in a world competition in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After the competition convened, Bennett, her granddaughters, and her daughter rented a car and took an extended adventure across Northern Ireland and then south through the Republic of Ireland. Bennett will take a break from studies at SFSC next spring to watch her granddaughter compete in World Irish Dance in Dublin, then she’ll spend a week in Scotland with her family. “I’m also planning a trip to Paris with my family next year to celebrate my 80th birthday,” she said.

    When Bennett was ready to take a class at the College, she stopped by the SFSC Lake Placid Center and spoke with Randy Paeplow, the former Lake Placid Center director. Bennett asked about taking a Psychology course and if she’d get college credit. Paeplow told her that she’d receive college credit and if she decided to work toward a degree, he’d be happy to discuss that with her.

    Bennett earned an A in the Psychology course and went on to take a course in American Government. This academic term, Bennett is taking three courses – Freshman English I, Fundamentals of Speech Communication, and Introduction to Microcomputers. “I thought I’d better not take another one this term because the computer class will probably be challenging,” she said.

    While she works toward her college degree, Bennett plans to spend summers with her daughter and grandchildren, either in Florida or traveling. She remains active otherwise, taking an aerobics class in Lake Placid three times a week and meeting friends for lunch.

    Regarding the pursuit of her degree, Bennett said, “If I can do it at my age, anybody can do it. It’s about being motivated. I’m motivated because a college degree is something that I want to accomplish before I die. It’s a big lifetime goal. I’ve been blessed with good health so far and am planning to be on stage during Commencement in my cap and gown to receive my degree eventually.

    “When you retire, you have to keep moving, you’ve got to keep active. It’s important to keep your brain functioning. If you just sit at home and watch TV, you don’t interact with people. It’s important to get out of your comfort zone and take on new and different challenges. I decided that I’m not slowing down. Why should I? I’m having fun.”