{"id":529,"date":"2017-07-06T03:16:41","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T10:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=529"},"modified":"2026-02-02T07:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:45:30","slug":"jerry-kight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/jerry-kight\/","title":{"rendered":"As long as you have the will, it\u2019s never too late to find your way to a degree."},"content":{"rendered":"

Oregon State\u2019s oldest 2017 graduate earned his degree online through Ecampus<\/h2>\n
\"Oregon

Oregon State’s oldest 2017 graduate, Jerry Kight, pictured above, walked at this year’s 148th commencement ceremony. After serving in the military, raising a family, working in the computer industry and retiring, Jerry went back to school, eventually earning his liberal studies degree online through Oregon State Ecampus 52 years after he started it at Oregon State.<\/p><\/div>\n

Oregon State University graduated a record 6,807 students this year at its 148th<\/sup> commencement ceremony June 17.<\/p>\n

The youngest graduate is 19 years old.<\/p>\n

The oldest graduate? He\u2019s 74 years old.<\/p>\n

His name is Jerry Kight. And he earned a degree in liberal studies<\/a>.
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\"Jerry\"Play\"<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

At 74 years old, Jerry Kight proves it’s never too late to earn a degree. Watch this video to\u00a0learn more about Jerry and his story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of myself and my wife for helping me do this and encouraging me to do it, and my kids, also,\u201d Jerry says.<\/p>\n

But you wouldn\u2019t have seen him sitting in class on campus this past year. That\u2019s because he finished his degree online through Oregon State Ecampus<\/a>, the university\u2019s online education division.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really interesting to see the different perspectives from the young kids these days,\u201d says Jerry, who lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. \u201cI have grandkids that are older than my classmates, but there are some sharp, sharp, sharp kids out there. There really are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jerry started as a student on campus at Oregon State in the 1960s after graduating from Pacific High School in Port Orford, Oregon.<\/p>\n

But during his senior year at OSU, he was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army special forces during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile in the Army, I met and worked with an amazing number of committed soldiers, some of whom had fought in WWII and Korea. And many of whom died in Vietnam. I was also exposed to British SAS (Special Air Service) soldiers, a remarkably dedicated and professional group,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

“<\/span>I\u2019m proud of myself and my wife for helping me do this and encouraging me to do it, and my kids, also.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Army sent him to live in North Carolina, where he met his wife, Pat. They have three children, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n

\"A

Lt. Jerry Kight, U.S. Army, 1966.<\/p><\/div>\n

When he wasn\u2019t spending time with his ever-growing family, Jerry worked various jobs in the computer industry.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

But he never officially earned his degree that he started 52 years ago at Oregon State.<\/p>\n

Until now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really neat experience,\u201d he says. \u201cI enjoyed it. It was fun, and I\u2019m proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accompanied by his family, Jerry attended the OSU Ecampus graduation reception<\/a> and walked at this year\u2019s commencement ceremony at Reser Stadium in Corvallis. He felt a sense of nostalgia being on campus so many years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe campus really has changed. It has really grown a lot,\u201d he says. \u201cI stayed in Poling Hall when I was a freshman here. I can remember walking down to the ag area and getting ice cream for 25 cents. I worked in the student union for 90 cents an hour. It was interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s next for Jerry after graduation?<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe my career is over at 74, so I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be looking for another job,\u201d he says with a laugh. \u201cI\u2019ve been retired for 12 years and I volunteer at the hospital and do Meals on Wheels, so I\u2019ll just continue doing that and reading up on stuff. It\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Oregon State University’s oldest graduate, 74-year-old Jerry Kight, earned his degree in liberal studies online through Oregon State Ecampus. \u201cI\u2019m proud of myself and my wife for helping me do this and encouraging me to do it, and my kids, also,\u201d Jerry says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[673],"tags":[75,26,77,120,25,24],"class_list":["post-529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-liberal-arts","tag-distance-education","tag-liberal-studies","tag-military","tag-online-education","tag-online-learning"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Jerry-and-Benny.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-8x","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1090,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/religious-studies-online-degree-oregon-state\/","url_meta":{"origin":529,"position":0},"title":"Religious studies online program puts Oregon State in rare company","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"December 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Someone who wants to earn a religious studies degree online doesn\u2019t have many options when it comes to programs that focus on the academic study of world religions. Thanks to Oregon State University, students not only have a new option to consider, but they can also do it while enrolled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Buddhist temple, part of the focus of Oregon State's religious studies online degree program.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/religious-studies-online-degree.jpg?fit=774%2C333&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/religious-studies-online-degree.jpg?fit=774%2C333&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/religious-studies-online-degree.jpg?fit=774%2C333&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/religious-studies-online-degree.jpg?fit=774%2C333&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":121,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/graduation-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":529,"position":1},"title":"Career success a theme among OSU’s record number of online graduates","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"June 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A record 692 Oregon State distance students will graduate Saturday after completing degree requirements online with OSU Ecampus. Students from as far away as Toronto and Japan are scheduled to attend commencement in Corvallis.","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A black entrance sign reads Oregon State University in gold lettering surrounded by a brick ledge and blooming flowers and a football stadium in the background.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/sign-entrance-reser-stadium.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/sign-entrance-reser-stadium.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/sign-entrance-reser-stadium.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/sign-entrance-reser-stadium.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/sign-entrance-reser-stadium.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1227,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/military-student-online-taniah-johnson\/","url_meta":{"origin":529,"position":2},"title":"With her diploma in hand, military veteran puts self-doubt to rest","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"August 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Taniah Johnson didn\u2019t think she was smart enough for college. 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