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Kathleen Fisher Michaels: Not Your Traditional Undergraduate
Anyone, student faculty or staff that has encountered Kathy Fisher Michaels, ’26 in her time at W&M could tell you she is a force. She is a Religious Studies graduate and transfer student that has taken on the department and the undergraduate college of Arts and Sciences with energy and enthusiasm. We met up for coffee and Kathy told me about her life and the lead-up to being at Â鶹Æƽâ°æ as a student in her 70’s.
After “a year and a day” at Longwood University in 1968, Kathy wasn’t enamored of the college experience. She moved back to her hometown to be close to her large and loving family and embarked on a long and successful career in administration and accounting. After retirement, Michaels cared for her spouse, who was disabled and retired as well. And even though she had plenty on her plate, she decided to “find out what she was missing” going into the later years of her life. As a result, she decided to go back to school at the age of 68. Since then, Michaels’ life has been full while earning her degree, with a knee replacement surgery, the loss of loved ones, travel, and much more, and she is now in her final semester as a Religious Studies Major.
Michaels sees no reason to be shy about her life experience, and prides herself on being the oldest person in the room, often including the instructor. She has enjoyed adding her perspective in classes, and faculty often welcome her contributions. Professor Annie Blazer said “Kathy always had a story to help illustrate a point I was making in class. Her life experience was an invaluable resource for our classroom!” Michaels followed her interests, taking courses on a wide range of subjects, and was even asked to give a guest lecture on aging in an Anthropology class. Her most memorable course, she says, was Writing the Self, a course on the study of Jewish memoir and the construction of identity. Since it’s clear that she is a born storyteller and story collector, it’s easy to understand why.
When I asked her what she valued about her degree, Michaels underlined a sentiment she heard from Professor Tobolowsky, that Religious Studies’ impact on its students’ life is far reaching. In her words, “It makes you a better person and a better learner in every other aspect of your life.” In every field and every class, Religion permeates the cultures, morality, motivations and norms of our societies. Kathy Fisher Michaels may not be making her way into the workforce, but the value of her education isn’t in her career prospects, “I want to learn as much as I can, and it’s really never too late.”