Can you imagine your husband coming home and saying, "I'm going to stop working?" says Bartholomew today. "My wife's been very good about this."

He enrolled in classes at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, NY with the intention of becoming a math teacher - a plan his calculus professor gently suggested he reconsider. Ultimately, Bartholomew found a new calling in the office of Professional Experience and Placement office at the university.

After Bartholomew graduates from the C.W. Post Campus on May 12 with a bachelor of science degree in economics - at the age of 56 - he will begin a new full-time career as a career counselor and cooperative education coordinator for the university.

"I will be working with students, teaching them how to interview and write resumes, really making the transition from school to business," says Bartholomew. "At the same time, I will be working with businesses to set up internships."

The office of Professional Experience and Placement is only too happy to have him. "Michael is going to bring his own sense of self-awareness as to how he went through this process," says Jeannette Grill, director of PEP. "He also has a great rapport with students. He knows what it means to change careers, and he has tremendous life skills."

For Bartholomew, earning a college degree in three years and landing a job with the PEP office are dreams come true. He has been able to share many experiences with his son, Michael, who is working toward a degree at the University of Scranton. He has met many people and learned many things. "It's been some of the best years of my life, without a doubt," he says. "I found it extremely stimulating."

Bartholomew will join 1,500 graduates at C.W. Post's 44th annual commencement exercises on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 12, 2002. C.W. Post is one of six campuses of Long Island University, the eighth largest private university in the United States.