And she did. Stovold, who emigrated to the United States in 1992 from Australia when her American husband, Mark St. Aoro, was transferred back home, discovered that some of the most important things she found out had nothing to do with nursing. "I would have never studied political science otherwise," she said. "As a new immigrant in the country, it taught me much about the political process."

Also, the frequent oral presentations in her nursing classes alleviated her fear of public speaking. In fact, after a public library presentation on Alzheimer's in Westbury, Stovold realized her main goal: helping the community. After graduation, she hopes to get involved with outreach for senior citizens or Meals on Wheels. In the future, she might even indulge her life-long love of ceramics and revisit C.W. Post to obtain that degree as well. "I enjoy education," she said. "I think that there are less obstacles for the non-traditional student like me. You have the advantage of maturity and your lifestyle is more structured."

Before coming to the U.S., Stovold earned her diploma in nursing in South Africa. Born in Zimbabwe, Stovold lived there and Botswana until she was 15. In Botswana, Stovold and her sister took a 24-hour train ride to their South African boarding school four times a year. After Stovold received her license as a Registered Nurse, she trained as a midwife and later became an operating room nurse at a Johannesburg Hospital.

Later, she settled in Sydney, Australia and worked in the Heart and Lung Transplant Unit at St. Vincent's Hospital, before training as a psychiatric nurse at Rozelle Hospital in Sydney. "In all the countries I have lived in and traveled through," said Stovold, "the common theme is that education leads to fulfillment of dreams and broadens one's horizons and mind."

Stovold's hardest adjustment in coming to America was learning the different slang. But she soon got used to phrases such as the "phone is busy" instead of the "phone's engaged" or "corridor" instead of "passageway."

Stovold, who will earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the School of Health Professions, spent six years at C.W. Post as a part-time student as she continued working. "In the beginning I knew it would take me forever and it put me off [from going for the degree] for so long," she said. "It was a matter of taking each year as it comes. I'm so glad I've chosen to do it."

Stovold will be part of a graduating class of 1,450 at C.W. Post's 43rd annual commencement exercises on Sunday, May 13, 2001. C.W. Post is one of six campuses of Long Island University, the eighth largest private university in the United States. C.W. Post's 11,000 students can choose from a broad range of undergraduate and graduate offerings as well as extensive continuing education programs. C.W. Post has awarded more than 82,000 degrees in its 47-year history. The campus is located on Northern Boulevard (Route 25A) in Brookville.