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Focus: The World as Classroom
The Life of Mary Emma Bruce

Mary Emma Bruce, or "Miss Emma" as she is known, is living proof that education is about more than sitting in a classroom. After all, she has spent the better part of her 94 years learning, although her formal education stopped more than 75 years ago when she graduated from high school.

A native of Hollins, VA, located near Roanoke in the western part of the state, Miss Emma joined the housekeeping staff of the chemistry and biology labs at Hollins University in 1934. "Her love was science," says Cynthia Bruce, Miss Emma's granddaughter and associate director of Military Programs at the American Council on Education's Center for Lifelong Learning. "She wanted to become a nurse, but was told that she was too small [at four feet, 10 inches tall]."

So Miss Emma made the most of her work in the science labs at Hollins, taking on a broader role by setting up experiments, helping students, and procuring and caring for the chemicals, equipment, and even the lab animals. Although she was never a registered student during her 42-year career, she took every biology and chemistry class that Hollins offered, learned the material, and took (and aced) the tests. In May, 70 years after she started at Hollins, Miss Emma received an enormous surprise when the university awarded her an honorary doctorate in recognition of her cumulative contributions to both the university and its students.

But her job was only part of her education. Miss Emma is also a lifelong member and missionary of the First Baptist Church of Hollins, where she serves as Sunday School superintendent and collects clothing, toys, and books for children in Africa, Total Action Against Poverty, and the Baptist Children's Home. In fact, she has invited every sitting Hollins president to attend worship services and every single one has come, with the exception of Nora Kizer Bell, who died before she could attend.

Miss Emma's commitment to education is most evident in her influence on others. "Any opportunity to learn, she pushed me to take it," recalls Cynthia, who was raised by her grandmother. "Not just formal education, but learning through the church or any other opportunity that came up. That's where my love of education comes from."

Miss Emma says her advice to young people is to stay in school and "prepare yourself. Education is not just about a job, it's about life." For this lifelong learner, it's been a life well lived.

—Submitted by Cynthia Bruce
   Associate Director, American Council on Education,
   Center for Lifelong Learning