During the Korean war, Robert Greathouse served his country as an aircraft mechanic and then after his service, he used the knowledge he’d gained to get a job with Goodyear Aerospace. In 1958 Goodyear sent Greathouse to take some courses at the University of Akron, but it was only to learn what he needed for work, not to earn a degree.
In 1960, he was laid off from Goodyear and got hired on at Lear Siegler Aerospace, working his way up from electronics technician to test equipment design engineer. Over the years, as he needed them to advance at work, he continued to take courses at University of Akron into the 1990s. Then in the mid 1990's he retired.
This year, Greathouse had a medical incident and while searching for some records, one of his daughters came across his college transcripts and realized he'd accumulated enough credits for a degree. She reached out to the university and they confirmed that Greathouse had enough credits to receive an associate of technical studies degree. So this week, 65 years after he first enrolled, Greathouse donned his cap and gown and was handed his degree, becoming the university’s oldest graduate at 93 years old.