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(Bluefield)—As someone who is 78 years “young,” The Reverend Robert Day won’t be the most youthful of the 400+ students to receive diplomas at Bluefield State College’s May 14 commencement exercises, but he will be among the proudest. That’s because his walk across the graduation stage next month completes a journey toward a college degree that began more than 50 years earlier. Day has packed a lot of living into his years and, in fact, it’s his varied life experiences that helped him significantly as he progressed toward a bachelor’s degree in the Regents Bachelor of Arts (RBA) program at BSC.
“I’ve been a paratrooper, a mine foreman, and, for nearly 40 years, a pastor,” he recalled during a recent visit to BSC’s Bluefield campus. “I’ve taken courses at vocational/trade schools, and I enrolled in college for the first time in 1947.” Day’s very interesting life story began in McDowell County in 1926. “I was born on Belcher Mountain,” he recalled. “My father and grandfather were both in law enforcement in McDowell County and both were killed in the line of duty.”
He attended Welch and Baileysville High Schools, leaving school in his junior year to enlist in the Army. After World War II, he enrolled in Concord and, one year later, transferred to Bowling Green (KY) University. Because of family health issues, he left school and returned to the region, enrolling in a trade school in Pineville. After working in the coal mines for two years, he became a mine foreman.
Moving to Columbus, OH in 1953, he joined the Air Force Reserves. “Four years later, I made the most important decision of my life,” he noted. “I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and was called to preach.” As a Church of God pastor, Day preached in Marianna, WV (near Pineville), then continued preaching at churches in New Haven, CT for seven years, Florida for five years, Mill Creek, WV for ten years, and Sophia, WV for 12 years before retiring in 1998. That’s when he thought about returning to college.
“My wife, Betty Jo, had earned a degree from Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College and she kept encouraging me to get my degree,” he explained. “I enrolled in the RBA program at Bluefield State about six years ago, because it permitted me to receive college credit for my work and life experiences, but I left the program shortly thereafter.”
Returning to the BSC RBA program last fall, Day is just weeks away from earning his bachelor’s degree. “It will be tremendously satisfying to walk across the stage and reach out to get my diploma. It means I’ve completed something I started in 1947.”
Day’s success has inspired several other individuals to consider the RBA program as well. “Our pastor in Man, WV learned what I’ve done and he’s now back in college,” Day said, and a parent of one of my instructors at Bluefield State has also decided to enroll in the RBA program.” “My message to other older students is this,” he summarized. “It’s never too late to go back to college. If I can do it, so can you. It’s one of the most fulfilling things you can do for yourself and your family.”
April 27, 2005
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