Returning to school after more than 50 years Jeff Cheevers was nervous when he walked into a Laurier Brantford classroom for the first time.
“I wasn’t sure if the kids would accept an old man like me,” Cheevers, 73, recalled of his first day at university. “The first kid who saw me asked if I was the professor.
“I said no, I’m a student, just like you.”
Then, the real professor showed up.
“He asked me how it was going so far, and I said fine but I had a question,” Cheevers said. “Where do I put my ink bottle?
“We had a chuckle and the professor explained to everyone that back in the 1950s, when I went to school, students dipped a pen into an ink bottle to write.”
The story doesn’t end there.
“Some kid sticks up his hand and asks if that was the pen with the really long feather,” Cheever said laughing.
So began an academic journey that would result in Cheevers earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminology from Laurier University.
Born and raised in Brantford, Cheevers attended North Park Collegiate but left school when he was in Grade 10.
“It was different times back then,” Cheevers said. “There were plenty of jobs in factories and shops.
“Not like today, where you get hired for a short time and then they let you go.”
Cheevers worked at a Scarfe and Co. before moving to Raymond Corp. – the forklift company – and later at Lowes before deciding to retire. Now employed as a crossing guard, Cheevers was looking to try something new.
He heard about Laurier Brantford and approached school officials who told him he would be welcome to audit classes.
Cheevers wanted more and enrolled in some classes.
“My family kept telling me to get a degree,” Cheevers said. “But I didn’t think I’d be able to do that.
“After a year or so, I was told I was doing well enough in my courses and that I should enroll full-time and get my degree.”
Cheevers received a lot of encouragement from his children, Derek, Chris, Kelly, Paul, Matt and Katie and the other students.
“The students were great and they loved that I could write,” Cheevers said. “When it came to group projects, I recorded all of the notes.
“They helped with all the technology and invited me to participate in the group study nights.”
In 2019-20, his last year, Cheevers made the Dean’s honor list for having an academic average of 80 per cent.
On Tuesday, Cheevers was among the more than 200 Laurier students to participate in graduation ceremonies at the Sanderson Centre. The in-person ceremonies for the classes of 2020 and 2021 had been postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I walked across the stage there was this really big cheer and that was really nice,” Cheevers said. “I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish.”
Cheevers is looking for a volunteer position either working with other seniors or perhaps in corrections.
“If I find something that I really like, I’ll probably pack it in with the schooling,” Cheevers said. “But there are still a few courses I’d like to take – forensics and police investigation.”
twitter.com/EXPVBall