HONESDALE, Pa. — Eric Linde, age 74, has lived a successful life, running his own contracting business in Wayne County, raising a family, and marrying the love of his life, Mary Anne, whom he met when he attended Penn State from 1964 to 1966.
Back then, Eric says college wasn't for him, so he left to pursue his dream. Leaving college was something that bothered him for years.
"I think I always knew that I had missed something by not going to school. And it had made being in business harder," he said.
So, four years ago, Eric enrolled in Penn State's World Campus to earn his business degree. Virtual learning would be a challenge, but Eric had already faced an uphill battle. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2014, but that didn't stop him. Eric says he feels that going back to school has helped him physically.
"I attribute a lot of that to running the mouse because my right side is the side that is affected, but running the mouse continually and doing the schoolwork and keeping my mind very active is what is helping."
On Thursday, Eric took his last final to complete the semester, one that he says took hours, and he was happy when it was over. Saturday afternoon, a few family members gathered at his house to watch the Class of 2020 graduate virtually.
"I don't think it dawned on me for probably a day or two that I had actually completed the thing until the watch of the virtual ceremony on Saturday morning."
Eric says he couldn't have done this without the help of his family. Penn State's "We are" motto rings true for the Linde family.
"It's never too late, but in my case, I was really lucky that I had a very supportive family. You can't believe the amount of satisfaction in going back and getting through it. I actually got a little emotional on Saturday morning during the commencement ceremony, and I just didn't realize that I had finally gotten to the point where I finally made it where I know I should have been 56 years ago."