His story serves as an inspiration to lifelong learners and a lesson in resilience and second chances.
When Timothy Watkins walked into Claudine Grunenwald Kirschner's public speaking class this fall, he wasn't your typical Baldwin Wallace University undergraduate. At 65, with silver hair and decades of life experience, he stood out among classmates young enough to be his grandchildren.
But Watkins didn't come to campus to relive his youth. He came to challenge his brain.
"If you quit learning, you quit making your brain stronger," Watkins told his classmates during his final presentation for one of six courses he’s taking this semester. "To truly feel alive, you need to continue to push yourself.”
It's a lesson born from experience. Watkins, who already holds two bachelor's degrees and has attended nine other universities during his lifetime, is now pursuing a degree in cybersecurity at the very institution that once showed him the door.
The story of Watkins' return to Baldwin Wallace begins with his departure nearly five decades ago. As a young student in his late teens, Watkins was small — 5'7" and 120 pounds — with what he describes as "a little man's complex." When an altercation with another student led to a confrontation, then-university president Dr. A.B Bonds had no choice but to show him the door.
The president's decision was both fair and transformative. "He apologized, told me that I needed to look at where I was and where I wanted to be," Watkins recalls. "He said that once I matured and was ready to take education seriously, I would be welcome back."
That door remained open, and Watkins eventually walked back through it — just not for another 40-plus years.
In the intervening decades, Watkins never stopped pursuing education. After leaving Baldwin Wallace, he joined the Navy. His girlfriend at the time continued her studies and graduated from BW, and the two eventually married in the church near the Conservatory. The Navy took them to Hawaii, where his family lived for 13 years, and education remained a constant thread throughout.
"I have continued to participate in some manner of higher education as long as I can remember," Watkins says. When asked if he ever "grew up" and started appreciating higher education, he offers a characteristically humble response: "Not sure if I grew up or ever will."
Now, with two bachelor's degrees already under his belt, he's back at Baldwin Wallace pursuing another — this time in cybersecurity. Why start over in an entirely new field at 65? "I decided that I wanted to learn something new that could complement what I had already studied," he explains.
Sitting in class alongside students born in the early 2000s, Watkins has discovered that the generational divide isn't as wide as one might think. "I have learned that this generation has just as many problems to deal with as my generation — they're only different," he reflects. "Each and every one is excited about what they are doing and where they want to be."
His classmates have taken notice. "I think what he's doing is impressive, and I admire him for his courage," observed Erik Wilson '27.
The feeling appears to be mutual. In his interactions with younger students, Watkins has found not a generation lost to technology or lacking ambition, but peers equally committed to their futures, even if they're navigating different challenges than those he faced decades ago.
His instructor adds, "The younger students would ask questions about Tim's lived experience and be delighted by the incredible stories he would share. Tim always provided a much-respected perspective and real-world feedback as they collaborated on coursework."
Watkins will turn 66 in February, but he shows no signs of slowing down. He plans to take another six courses in the spring. That commitment reflects his fundamental belief that the brain, like any muscle, requires constant exercise.
In an era when many Americans his age are settling into retirement, Watkins is doing the opposite: challenging himself with one of the most demanding and rapidly evolving fields in higher education.
His journey from a troubled young student with a "little man's complex" to a senior student pursuing his third bachelor's degree is a testament to the truth that education isn't confined to a specific age or timeline. Dr. Bonds' words from decades ago — about looking at where you are and where you want to be — clearly took root.
And for Watkins, where he wants to be is simple: learning, growing and proving that it's never too late to start again.
