Friday, May 2,2008
Page 6
CAMPUS VOICE
Benton aspires - and inspires - with return to college
By VINCE WILLIAMS
Staff Writer
George Benton is not your
typical college student. While
Benton shares the enthusiasm
and the struggles of other
students here, he differs by one
important factor.
Benton is 63 years old.
So why is someone his age
attending college?
According to Benton, the
inspiration for his return to
college was as close as his
backyard.
“I like to write about nature,”
said Benton.
“I have some bird feeders
in the back yard, and I enjoy
writing about the animals’
behavior.”
This is not Benton’s first stint
at Wayne Community College.
In the 1970s he was a student at
the old campus that now stands
quiet at the Wayne Memorial
Drive and US 70 intersection.
Now he finds himself five
semester hours from acquiring
George Benton works on a
College.
his degree.
Benton is a Goldsboro native
and retired postal employee with
a wife and two daughters.
His wife was surprised to
leam of her husband’s desire to
enroll in college at a time when
George Benton’s contemporaries
were getting serious about their
Photo by VINCE WILLIAMS
project at Wayne Community
idle time.
His daughters admire their
father for his ambition.
And they have inspired him.
During a visit to one of them
in Indiana, he developed a
fascination with wildlife. While
there, they took a trip to a park
with unique, one-way glass so
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that the animals couldn’t see
their observers and would not
be fearful.
It is this type of intimate
observational, opportunity that
Benton hopes to duplicate in
his backyard using feeders and
birdhouses.
Benton’s strategy seems
simple when it comes to
recording animal behavior, but
it is more sophisticated when he
reveals the intended audience
for his writing.
“I send it to my grandchildren,”
said Benton. “I hope that it
inspires them to continue their
education.”
Students
Continued from 2
WCC, Demetrius was a Student
Government Association officer
and founding member of the
Minority Male Mentoring
Group, in addition to coaching
youth sports.
He graduated with an associate
in arts degree in 2007 and
transferred to East Carolina
University, where he is studying
to be an athletic trainer
Demetrius lives in Goldsboro,
is active in his church and is the
single parent of a son.
Alison was chosen to present
two songs at the event.
She sang “What a Wonderful
World” by Louis Armstrong
and “This is the Moment” from
“Jekyll & Hyde.”
Alison graduated from Wayne
Early/Middle College High
School last year.
She was recently inducted
into Phi Theta Kappa at WCC.
She hopes to go on to Lee
University in Tennessee where
she will major in English and
minor in music.
Alison lives in the Mar-Mac
community.
1-800-NEW-GOAL
www.moc.edu