In 1979 Mary Fasano enrolled in Spanish, her first course at the Harvard Extension School. Since she already knew a little Italian, she thought learning Spanish would be a good way to start her undergraduate education. Eighteen years and 43 courses in Spanish, Italian, fine arts, history, philosophy, classical civilizations, and creative writing later, Mary is earning her Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree this June. The fact that Mary stayed true to her academic goal every year for 18 years is noteworthy, and the fact that she was 71 years old when she started and is 89 years old now is remarkable.
　　Mary was born in Natick, Rhode Island, on May 12, 1908, of Italian immigrant parents. A bright and talented student who loved learning, she left school at 14 to work in a cotton mill to help support her struggling family. "I made a promise to myself that I would go back to school someday," she said. She tried to go back to school several times once her five children were grown and the family business, Fasano Diner and Catering, in Braintree, Massachusetts, was in the black, but the demands of restaurant life competed with the demands of academic life. Finally, after 60 years in the workforce, Mary decided to retire. She sold the diner, her children took over the catering business, and she went back to school. The first thing she did with her newfound free time was to earn her high school equivalency diploma at Braintree High School.
　　Then she came to Harvard. "I was nervous, but I thought I would give it a try," she recalled. "Starting a business was a risky thing to do, but we made it, and now they call us the Cadillac of caterers. I knew I could give Harvard a try."
　　Starting college at 71 demonstrates that Mary still accepted risks in pursuit of her dreams; staying the course for 18 years testifies to her determination to fulfill a promise she made to herself 75 years before; and earning honors grades in math, foreign languages, philosophy, and literature in her late 80s proves her academic commitment. For all these reasons, Mary is the "Cadillac" of ALB graduates.
　　Mary's dramatic academic journey symbolizes the mission of the Undergraduate Degree Program at the Harvard Extension School: giving academically talented men and women a second chance at fulfilling their educational goals, whether they are 29 or 89 years old.

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