OLEAN, N.Y. — Paul Jewett pulled out two manilla folders that had been securely tucked away in a dresser drawer in his room at the Eden Heights assisted living community.
He hadn’t rummaged through the contents of those folders much over the years. But they’ve been in the back of his mind, and they mean a lot to him.
One contains his college transcript, in perfect condition, protected by a plastic covering. The other is filled with original papers he wrote on typewriter while taking classes at SUNY Jamestown Community College in the 1980s.
The transcript shows 46 college credits earned by Jewett from 1982 to 1989 – 14 short of an associate degree.
At some point, life got in the way.
Jewett worked full-time at Dresser-Rand in Olean. He ran a 30-acre tree farm in Franklinville. He raised a family. He had other responsibilities.
“I got overwhelmed and that’s why I didn’t finish going anymore,” he said recently. “I stopped going, and I always regretted it. It was something I left undone, and I needed to have it completed.”
With students returning to school last August, something in Jewett moved him to open those folders. And seeing them again pushed him to call JCC about the possibility of earning life experience credits to complete a college degree or certificate.
In February, following a months-long process, Jewett learned that he would be receiving an Individual Studies certificate from JCC.
“I was very happy,” Jewett said, holding back tears. “It’s one of those things that I started and never finished. I’m 87 years old. I’m running out of time to get those things done. I’m going to get it done now.”
Jewett was awarded his certificate from JCC during a gathering of friends and family at Eden Heights last week. At 87, Jewett is the oldest known student to earn a credential from JCC.
Jessica Kubiak, JCC’s vice president of Academic Affairs, presented Jewett the certificate, along with JCC counselor Dianna Shaw, and faculty members Sarah Bray and Karen Weyant.
To gain life experience credit through JCC, Jewett was required to submit an application and portfolio and arrange a personal interview with a college counselor.
Jewett, throughout the process, worked with Shaw, whom Jewett said he has pestered since the fall. That’s how much it meant to him.
“I think she got sick of me calling,” Jewett joked.
Shaw and fellow JCC officials determined that the best path forward for Jewett, who has Parkinson’s disease and doesn’t drive or use a computer, was earning a certificate rather than the Business degree he was aiming for 40 years ago.
“We figured out that he was only three credits short of an Individual Studies certificate,” Shaw said, “and that might be something a little easier to obtain. I asked him for some writing samples. He still had papers that he wrote back in the ’80s, and he sent them to me. He had seven papers. I was like, ‘OK, let's do it.’”
Weyant, an associate professor of English at JCC, reviewed Jewett’s writing and wrote a letter of support that led to Jewett being awarded the needed credits to be eligible for a certificate. Bray, an associate Business professor, provided important support along the way.
Jewett proudly shared those type-written papers, all still in mint condition, recently. He implored a visitor to his room at Eden Heights to read the last paragraph of one of his favorites.
“Sometimes I amaze myself,” he said with a laugh. “I wrote that? ... Especially the one on evolution.”
Jewett earned an ‘A’ on the paper and carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average over his 46 college credits.
Jewett started taking classes at JCC thanks to a tuition refund offered by his employer, Dresser-Rand. He began as an electrical draftsman at Dresser in 1969, was later transferred to the cost estimating office, and was promoted to a supervisor before retiring in 1997.
Jewett began his working life in Cleveland as a sales trainee for two years before moving back to Franklinville to take a job at Acme Electrical, where he worked his way up to a senior draftsman position.
“He has quite an accomplished background,” Shaw said.
The 1955 graduate of Franklinville Central School also served two years in the U.S. Army at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Maryland, where he was exposed to chemicals that contributed to his Parkinson’s disease.
All the while, Jewett raised two children with his wife Kay, who died in 2022, and operated the tree farm for 21 years.
"Over the years I planted 30,000 Christmas trees. At least that many. Maybe even more,” Jewett said. “I tried to plant 5,000 a year. The trees went all over. Some of the tree brokers bought whole blocks. They went all over the United States, shopping malls, all over. I really enjoyed that because it was such a deviation from working in the office. I got outside. I was in the fresh air. I loved it.”
Outside of the classrooms of JCC, Jewett remembers going on a whitewater rafting adventure down Cattaraugus County Creek with younger classmates – he was in his 40s and 50s while taking classes – and attending a pig roast held by one of his instructors.
“I had a ball,” he said. “I liked the teachers. The teachers were great. They didn’t treat me like a kid, because I wasn’t. I was older. I had a good time when I went to JCC. It’s a good school. It really is.”
After sharing the transcript and college papers with a visitor, Jewett’s daughter Debbie organized them on a coffee table and set them neatly back in the folders. She promised her father she would guard them well after he’s gone.
Of course, the certificate that Jewett was given last week will be added to that precious collection.