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Back to law school as an octogenarian
By LYNN YORK
Article published on Thursday, March 23, 2006 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/032306_cit-03.jpg) |
| Photo by LYNN YORK |
| Jeanette Goldstein, a recent law school graduate, signs a book at a talk in Clearwater when she told the audience of her experiences of going to school in her eighties. |
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CLEARWATER – Since its introduction in 1960, the game of “Life” has been loved by generations of children who enjoy the chance to decide their future with just a spin of the wheel. Will it be a career or marriage, a house full of kids or a millionaire’s mansion?
Earlier this moth, more than 50 people came to Regency Oaks to hear one woman’s story of how she not only mastered this game, but created her own set of rules along the way.
All as a grandmother in her eighties.
Jeanette Goldstein didn’t have the opportunity to follow her dream of being a lawyer when she was growing up. Women of her generation were expected to marry and raise a family, not have a career.
Goldstein wanted more.
But first the 85-year-old did what was expected - married and had a family. However, while raising her eight children in Rochester, N.Y., Goldstein earned an education degree, went to work as a schoolteacher until age 50, switched careers to became a social worker for two decades and attended evening classes for her master’s degree. Then she retired.
After the death of her husband in 1996, Goldstein knew she needed to keep herself busy to stave off the loneliness and depression that usually follows the loss of a loved one.
“I was determined not to have that happen to me,” she said.
With two degrees under her belt, Goldstein decided it was time for her to finally live her lifelong dream of being a lawyer. Then 80, and hoping for the best, Goldstein applied to two New York law school programs in 2001, but was unsure if she’d be accepted because of her age.
Fortunately for Goldstein the only obstacle to getting her first step in the door was to decide which school to attend, Nova or Syracuse University, because both accepted her.
She chose Syracuse.
Attending on a full time basis, Goldstein’s first year was very difficult, yet she remained determined.
“Boy was I happy,” she said. “I felt the same age as the rest of the students.”
Goldstein’s return to college also helped strengthen her relationships with her 22 grandchildren. Before law school, the grandkids saw Goldstein as a beloved elderly woman in their lives, but soon regarded her as a role model.
“They thought of me as a fellow student,” said Goldstein.
One of Goldstein’s sons was so inspired by his mother’s determination that he wrote and published a book about it, “Grandma Goes To Law School … Why It’s Never Too Late To Live Your Dreams.”
Standing alongside his mother, Jeremy Goldstein told the Regency Oaks crowd that “there’s hope for all of us” when it comes to accomplishing our goals, no matter how big or small. He also contributed his mother’s late-in-life successes not to genes or good health but to a positive attitude.
After three of the most challenging years of her life, Goldstein graduated in May 2004. This February, she took the New York Bar Exam. Still waiting for the results, Goldstein hopes to use her degree in the corporate world, possibly the Pentagon.
Goldstein also answered questions from the audience. When asked why she forged ahead with her dream, Goldstein said “I believe it’s important to have lifelong learning experiences.”
Plus there was a fringe benefit – she had no time to think about her aging body’s aches and pains because she was too busy studying.
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Article published on Thursday, March 23, 2006
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