May 19, 2003
This article is reprinted from the May 17, 2003 Waco Tribune-Herald. Reprinted with permission.
After 60-year hiatus from school, Baylor student earns his degree
By BRIAN GAAR Tribune-Herald staff writer
Weldon Bigony gets nostalgic walking around the Baylor University campus. He loves the spires of Old Main, the red brick buildings, the chiming bells. They have been a part of his life for a long time.
"In one way, I don't want it to end," he says. "But then I think about all that studying and all those tests, and I say, 'No, it's time to end.' "
Graduation has been a long time coming for Bigony. He'll turn 83 years old this month and will become one of the oldest graduates in the school's history Saturday.
Decades after a world war interrupted his senior year, Bigony returned to school last fall to finish the 24 class hours remaining for his business degree.
"I wish all of my students were as motivated as Weldon," said Chuck Delaney, an associate professor of real estate. "He didn't miss a single class the entire semester."
Bigony says he hated to leave something undone. He credits Baylor for letting him finish his athletic scholarship.
A native of Big Spring, Texas, Bigony got a scholarship to play fullback on Baylor's football team in 1938. He played with alumni like Jack Lummus, a World War II veteran who was killed in Iwo Jima.
The war cut Bigony's senior year short in 1941. He wasn't drafted, but he enlisted in the Navy anyway.
"He's got a lot of guts," Delaney said. "He went because it was the right thing to do."
Bigony wanted to fly fighter planes, but ended up piloting cargo transports.
"I never got in combat," he said. "I admire those guys that went over, whether they were on the ground or in the air, or on the ships, putting their life at risk. I'm not in that category, but I give all of those guys lots of credit."
After the war, Bigony married, had three children and spent 40 years as a pilot. He retired from flying at 61years old. Since then, he has been playing golf and taking vacations.
It was Bigony's mother who inspired him to return to school. She graduated from Texas Tech University in her 70s.
"So I guess some of that's in my blood," he said. "I get it from her."
His professors were impressed at how hard he focused on school work. Bigony always sat in the front, with his hearing aid turned up.
And while he doesn't start on the football team anymore, Bigony still trains at the track. He's a competitive race walker, after hip replacements forced him to stop running.
He uses the hand rails while walking up the steps to Old Main. Not because he has to. But one day, he knows that he'll need them.
"I've always had a love for Baylor," Bigony said. "It's such a good school. Baylor spirit is hard to explain. It's a spirit that stays with you for life."
His quest to finish school made national news. People Magazine , USA Today , and even the "Today Show" came calling. Camera crews for the show filmed Bigony last week in Delaney's class. He had to postpone some interviews while studying for finals, which, like any college student, he hated.
Andy Arterbury, an adjunct professor who teaches a New Testament class, said he didn't give Bigony any breaks.
"He did his own work," Arterbury said. "He actually interacted with the students surprisingly well."
Bigony knew his age would set him apart from his classmates. He remembers his first day of class, sitting on the front row with hearing aids and his backpack.
"I'd see them whispering to one another," Bigony recalled. "I know what they were thinking. They were thinking, 'Now, he's too old to be faculty, so what is he?' They couldn't figure that out."
He and his fellow students eventually broke the ice. But it was different, once upon a time, when people would go out of their way to speak to other students and professors.
"It's still a friendly campus, but it's changed," Bigony said. "Enrollment has increased, and people now, I guess, are more dedicated, concentrating on going here and there from this class to this class. It's just changed."
He will graduate on Saturday, then he's off to a race walk in Virginia. He'll then move with his daughter to Washington state and continue his volunteer work in nursing homes and prisons.
"I know a lot of pilots, all they know and all they like is flying," Bigony said. "When that's over, they get bored. They don't know what to do with themselves. But I never had that problem. I enjoyed it all, never missed it, because I'm doing other things that I always wanted to do in my lifetime."
Delaney said Bigony's perspective made for some interesting class discussions. After all, it's rare to have a student who remembers life before television.
"I don't know what he's going to do when he graduates on Saturday, but I suspect he'll do about anything he sets his mind to," Delaney said "Everybody should have an opportunity have a Weldon Bigony in their class."
Brian Gaar can be reached at 757-5741 or at bgaar@wacotrib.com.
