{"id":18663,"date":"2025-05-22T12:16:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T16:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eckerd.edu\/news\/?p=18663"},"modified":"2025-05-22T14:09:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T18:09:34","slug":"graduate-degree-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eckerd.edu\/news\/blog\/graduate-degree-50-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Eckerd College graduate finishes degree 50 years in the making"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extraa-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”18667″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Holly Quillian earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in humanities last weekend.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”right” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” el_class=”news_subhead” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Holly Quillian \u201925 nervously adjusted her grad cap as she headed toward the front of the procession at Eckerd College\u2019s 62nd Commencement<\/a> on May 18.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”right” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”2\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]She\u2019d finally be crossing the stage and receiving her degree in humanities<\/a> 50 years after she began.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople might think that I\u2019m faculty,\u201d she quips. \u201cIt\u2019s been such a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, her fear of standing out didn\u2019t deter her from completing a long-held dream\u2014one she\u2019d come so close to before her life was changed forever.<\/p>\n

Holly Hall had originally looked for a college where she could be close to her parents, who\u2019d recently moved to Delray Beach, Florida, from Ohio. She was finishing up at a Massachusetts prep school in 1975 when she discovered Eckerd, a three-hour drive from her mom and stepdad.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” top_margin_tablet=”32″ column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][image_with_animation image_url=”18665″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”right” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]It was near the beach, and it had a tennis team<\/a>, which meant she could pursue two of her passions while obtaining her degree. Once she started, she fell in love with the art program<\/a> and had ideas of becoming a photographer. She even did a Winter Term<\/a> at the then\u2013St. Petersburg Times<\/em> in pursuit of that goal. When she wasn\u2019t competing on the court or hanging out at her Pass-a-Grille apartment with friends, Holly was playing Frisbee with the campus dogs.<\/p>\n

Everything was going well until the end. Holly\u2019s mom got diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my senior year, it just spread all through her, and when she died, it was just devastating,\u201d Holly recalls. \u201cSo I lost my way. And even though all I had left to do was my thesis or to do an art show for my mentor [Professor of Visual Arts] Arthur Skinner<\/a>, I just lost my way.\u201d<\/p>\n

She retreated to Delray Beach. Her stepdad had a stroke after her mother\u2019s passing, and the parental guidance she\u2019d once relied on disappeared. Without someone to push, Holly started a different path.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got married, and then a year later, I had my daughter, Charlotte\u2014so then just, really, the thought of returning to Eckerd [seemed impossible],\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She used her critical thinking and people skills to land her first real gig as an assistant manager at Blockbuster Music and spent the majority of the rest of her career managing operations for corporations and nonprofits alike. Her adaptiveness helped her continually land on her feet as industries changed and chains went out of business. Four years ago, she was working in operations for the Manatee County Girls Club when a Saks Fifth Avenue employee told her they had some positions available.<\/p>\n

As a frequent customer, Holly had never dreamed of returning to retail. But she felt ready to retire from office life and thought, Why not? She took a job as a women\u2019s shoes associate and applied her skills in diplomacy and quality assessment to serving her clientele. Life was sweet.<\/p>\n

She married a tomato grower and moved into his Palmetto home on Snead Island looking out at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Still, there was more to do.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” el_class=”lg_text” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\u201cI just never even thought of it until recently,\u201d Holly explains. \u201cI felt I had divine guidance to call the school, and I did.\u201d<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”right” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]The registrar<\/a> located her records and saw she simply needed to complete a capstone course and thesis paper to receive her degree. Professor of Religious Studies Davina Lopez, Ph.D.<\/a>, agreed to take Holly on as an independent-study student and shepherd her thesis to the finish line.<\/p>\n

Getting back into the rhythm of being a student went more smoothly than Holly could have dreamed. Her first task was drafting an intellectual autobiography. Lopez assigned the text The Work of Art in the World: Civic Agency and Public Humanities<\/em> and required Holly to submit reflections on each chapter. When it was thesis time, Holly tapped into her passion for collecting midcentury modern furniture for inspiration. She submitted her draft bibliography and received Lopez\u2019s blessing to write.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a collector, and I had these great books about midcentury furniture,\u201d Holly says. \u201cSo I did my paper on the midcentury modern chair, and I had these great books that I never really had a chance to sit down and read. A lot of them I thought of as just being picture books, but they weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reservoir of knowledge pouring out from her own bookshelves helped Holly fill the pages of a thesis that examined the artistic importance and social ramifications of midcentury seating design. After she hit \u201cSubmit\u201d at the end of the semester, she was elated to receive a response from the College telling her she\u2019d earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in humanities.<\/p>\n

On May 18, Holly smiled brightly at every interaction and soaked in the moments from the processional until the very end of the Commencement ceremony. What had seemed a pipe dream merely one year ago was now a reality. She was an Eckerd College graduate. Her next chapter might include more roles in her Episcopalian church or maybe even some writing\u2014perhaps about midcentury modern furniture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen really. I\u2019m not sure,\u201d Holly admits. \u201cBut I think having the degree gives me confidence. It does \u2026 it really does.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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