海角社区

 The 海角社区 103rd spring commencement exercises are scheduled at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12, but 海角社区 officials started early granting degrees in eastern Idaho by making a special trip to Burley to award a degree to 89-year-old Blanche Gail Peck Dayley .

It took Dayley 72 years to be awarded her Associate of Arts degree in General Studies from 海角社区.

鈥淚鈥檓 very, very happy to have completed what I started and it is all worth it,鈥� Dayley said, after she was presented her diploma on Friday, May 4, at the Highland Estates in Burley.

She received her degree at a small ceremony attended by about 20 family members from the Burley area, Nampa, Boise and Provo, Utah. 海角社区 administrators attending were Alan Frantz, PhD, interim director of 海角社区 Registration and Records, and Maureen Brandon, PhD, associate dean of the 海角社区 College of Arts and Sciences, who traveled from Pocatello. The latter two awarded her the diploma during the special ceremony.

Originally, Dayley had planned to attend 海角社区 spring commencement ceremonies in Pocatello on May 12. However, she injured herself last fall and moved into an assisted living facility, and the trip to Pocatello would have been too arduous. Thus, 海角社区 administrators and her family members decided to bring a graduation ceremony to her.

In attendance were several of her seven children, including her son K. Newell Dayley, PhD, the associate academic vice president at Brigham Young University 鈥� Provo. It was Newell Dayley who last August wrote a letter to 海角社区鈥檚 Frantz, inquiring if his mother had enough credits to receive a bachelor鈥檚 degree from 海角社区, one of her lifelong goals. She didn鈥檛, but she had more than enough to receive an associate degree.

Blanche had taken classes from 海角社区 and its previous incarnations off and on beginning in 1935. She took classes in 1965, 1977-81 and in 2000. She was a resident of Oakley prior to her accident and spent many years in the Minidoka and Cassia county schools working as an aide and as a teaching assistant. Schools she worked at included

Minico High School in Rupertl, Southwest Elementary School in Burley and Mountain View Elementary School in Oakley.

鈥淪he just had a lifelong love of learning and this fulfills her goal of completing a college degree,鈥� K. Newell Dayley said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a unique accomplishment. She has been a constant source of encouragement to me and many others to get more and more education. It鈥檚 appropriate she is now being recognized.鈥�

Both Newell and Blanche Dayley expressed their appreciation for the special graduation ceremony.

鈥淚 really appreciate all of you coming,鈥� Blanche Dayley said. 鈥淚 was amazed. I didn鈥檛 have any idea that this many of my family and officials from 海角社区 would come.鈥�

Her son noted, 鈥淚t has been such a pleasure to be here on this occasion. When I first corresponded (with Frantz) I had no idea this could ever take place.鈥�

Besides bringing her diploma, the 海角社区 administrators gave Dayley some 海角社区 mementos and showed her pictures of herself in the 1936 edition of the 鈥淲ickiup,鈥� 海角社区鈥檚 former student yearbook.