portland press

Longtime Bowdoin Employee to Earn Degree After 18 Years

Fifty-six-year-old Lisa Bouffard has been working in an administrative job at the campus dining services department since 1996

A longtime employee at Bowdoin College gives new meaning to the notion of a "work-study'' job.

Fifty-six-year-old Lisa Bouffard has been working in an administrative job at the campus dining services department since 1996. And for the last 18 years, she also has been averaging one class per semester. She'll graduate next month with a double-major in religion and gender and women's studies.

A college spokesman told the Portland Press Herald that Bouffard is believed to be the first Bowdoin employee to complete a degree start-to-finish at the college. She officially applied and was admitted after taking eight classes, and since starting her studies, has seen her own three children graduate from college and has welcomed four grandchildren.

Bouffard says she is grateful for friends and family who encouraged her as she juggled her schedule and schoolwork.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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