In 1996 while delivering newspapers, Lyman Stephenson, a diabetic, passed out at the wheel after being given too much insulin. The accident ended hi career and gave way to a new life of couch surfing, and ultimately education.

“There is only so much you can do being a couch potato. Just sit on the couch and atrophy every muscle in your body including your brain,” said Stephenson. “I was sitting at home watching TV and there wasn’t a damn thing that interested me, so I thought I’d go back to school.”

At the age of 71, Stephenson decided to revisit SF State to finish what he had started in 1973.

“Once I got here, I decided I was going to get that sheepskin,” he said.

Stephenson prepared himself for school by taking remedial writing and reading courses at Diablo Valley College.

Now 73, Stephenson is finishing up his last semester at SF State, and taking nine units to complete his Bachelors of Arts in History.

“I chose history because you only need 39 units, with business you need 63,” he said, laughing.

Dr. Mark Sigmon, a lecturer in the history department who taught Stephenson for two semesters, said he admires his determination to accomplish his goals.

“Most students are in college to get a degree in order to pursue their careers," Sigmon said. "Lyman, on the other hand, seems determined to get his B.A. just for his own personal satisfaction.”

Writing has been one of the most challenging aspects of Stephenson’s college career.

“I’m not imaginative when it come to writing papers,” he said. “And a thesis statement? What the hell is that? My high school didn’t teach us about writing.”

Stephenson, who carries about a C average, said his GPA upsets him a little bit.

“I really felt that I should get straight A’s,” he said. “What have I got to do but study? I just haven’t figured out how to study right,” he said.

Through the over-60 degree program, Stephenson pays only $3 a term, which is less than the $100 a semester he paid when he first attended in 1973 as a business major. At that time, he completed four semesters but had to quit because of personal problems.

A father of eight, with children ranging from the ages of 26 to 46, and a grandfather of seven, Stephenson said his family thought it was a good idea for him to go to back to school.

“One of my daughters said, ‘Well why are you going to do that?’ and I said, ‘Because I can.'”

Stephenson’s youngest daughter Jolene Agnew, 26, said she was happy and proud of her father and absolutely cannot wait to see him graduate in May.

“I just graduated high school and went straight to the work, so my dad is an inspiration for me wanting to go to college,” said Agnew.

The Idaho native began his college career at Brigham Young University. There he completed two semesters but decided to go on a church mission for two years. Upon returning from his mission in 1957, he hitchhiked with a friend from Idaho to New York where he found work and got married within a year.

Always a hard worker, Stephenson supported his family by working various jobs, including as a shoe and vacuum cleaner salesman, an embalmer, a manager at Weiner Schnitzel and a cab driver.

Stephenson does not mind sharing a dirty joke or two. He loves to tell about his encounter in an elevator in the Humanities building with two younger female students where warned the two ladies that they were in an elevator with a dirty old man and one of the ladies told him to jump her.

Sigmon said he was also impressed by the number of students who were willing to help him.

“Somehow Lyman managed to get quite a few very attractive women to take notes for him. He never chose any of the guys who volunteered to take notes for him,” Sigmon said.

When asked about extracurricular activities, Stephenson laughed and said, “I don’t have time to do much outside of school, but I did enjoy making babies; that was fun.”

After graduating, Stephenson said he plans to take the LSAT and pursue his interest in employee rights.