[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 72 (Friday, June 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 LIFE-LONG LEARNER--SALUTE TO A SENIOR CITIZEN SCHOLAR--PEARL SHAFFER 
                                 SWEET

                                 ______


                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 10, 1994

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, as the former president of California State 
University Long Beach, I have always found the spring graduation 
ceremonies at that institution a time of celebration and inspiration. I 
continue to be impressed, not only with the quality of the university's 
graduates, but also with the determination that so many of them show in 
pursuing and completing a degree.
  At a time in life when many among us would be at home, taking it 
easy, perhaps watching a little television or reading, 89-year-old 
Pearl Shaffer Sweet of Seal Beach, CA, has shown us that the golden 
years are definitely not the sunset years.
  I have known Mrs. Sweet for two decades. She was in the first group 
of students participating in the Senior Citizen Education Program. That 
program was based on an idea I recommended to several State legislators 
in the early 1970's. Led by State Senator Alfred E. Alquist, San Jose, 
and coauthored by State Senators George Deukmejian, Long Beach, and 
Joseph Kennick, Long Beach, a simple idea became reality. The idea was 
to provide an opportunity for seniors to interact and keep learning. 
Everyone who would admit to being 60 years of age would be admitted to 
the State university. That senior student would pay only $3 per 
semester to take a full academic load on a space available basis. It 
would be a way for the State to pay back many senior citizens whose 
taxes had helped build the Nation's first system of higher education. 
Beginning at Long Beach and San Jose State University, the trustees 
later opened all campuses to senior citizens such as Pearl Sweet.
  This past month, Mrs. Sweet received a master's degree in history 
from California State University Long Beach--becoming the oldest person 
to receive a degree from the university.
  The road to a graduate degree has been long for Mrs. Sweet, a widow 
with seven grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. She graduated from 
Stockton, CA, High School in 1923. Shortly thereafter, while working in 
a candy shop, she fell through an open trap into the store's basement. 
The resulting injury seriously affected her health for the rest of her 
life. But Mrs. Sweet did not submit to the pain.
  Though she had begun classes at the University of the Pacific in 
Stockton in 1924, her health problems prevented her from earning her 
bachelor's degree until 1976--more than 50 years later. In between, she 
raised two sons and began compiling the history of her family and 
church.
  Mrs. Sweet began studying for her master's degree in 1984. Because 
her family had strong ties to the Methodist Church--and because she had 
been researching her family and her church for decades--her graduate 
studies focused on Methodist higher education in California.
  When asked about the importance of education in her life, Mrs. Sweet 
told a reporter, ``It's been my therapy. I have been inspired. I have 
been soothed in the worst of illness. No matter how much pain I had, I 
had a goal.''
  Mrs. Sweet's resolve to overcome pain and her dedication to learning 
reached an emotional climax at the recent CSULB graduation ceremonies. 
According to a newspaper account, she made a dramatic entrance onto the 
stage in a wheelchair lift. When she shook hands with interim CSULB 
President Karl Anatol, the audience gave her a standing ovation. As she 
was lowered in the wheelchair life, she waved to the crowd with both 
hands--like the champion she truly is.
  Earning a master's degree will not be the end for this vibrant senior 
citizen. Mrs. Sweet plans to continue studying history and composing 
poems. It is through her poetry that she teaches the secret to a long 
and active life. I submit an example and celebrate the spirit of its 
inspirational author, Pearl Shaffer Sweet.

     I need another mountain, Lord
     Although my step is slow
     I gained some peaks with lovely views and now I want to go
     Along more trails I glimpse ahead
     There is more beauty here
     With you nearby to hold my hand
     There's nothing I need fear.

                          ____________________