If a thirst for learning is passed on in the genes, Emma Headen got a double dose from her grandmother.

        Now she inspires lifelong learning and cooperation in others.

        Mrs. Headen, 78, is a stroke survivor. She uses a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and has use of only her right hand.

        In June, she'll finish the college education she began 24 years ago. The great-grandmother of two and grandmother of six will obtain a bachelor's degree in social sciences from the University of Cincinnati. She made the dean's list twice this year.

        “As long as you're happy with what you're doing, you'll make good,” she says, repeating what she learned from her grandmother, Laura Johnson, who was born in Covington the year after slavery was abolished and traveled to Cincinnati daily to attend school. Northern Kentucky had no schools for black children, but she was determined to learn.

        Mrs. Headen's educational journey also was arduous, not because of distance or racism, but because of disability and age.
       

Starting UC at age 55

        She grew up in the West End during the Depression. Her mother worked in a plant and raised three daughters until she collapsed from illness.

        Mrs. Headen never dreamed of college. She worked as a secretary at churches, married and divorced, raised two kids and her oldest grandson.

        Friendship with an Italian family awakened a desire to study language, she says, but a Spanish course at the YMCA wasn't enough. In 1978, at age 55, she enrolled in UC.

        Taking class five nights a week, she worked full time during the days. She took courses in criminal justice, African-American studies and psychology. Her grades were a mixed bag: A's in “White Collar Crimes” and “Probation and Parole,” C's and D's in psychology and astronomy.

        “I walked all over that campus,” she says. “I lost weight. I took 1,001 courses that it turns out I didn't need (to graduate).”

        She took a break in 1984. Then a stroke some months later kept her from returning.

        Six months in a hospital and six more in rehabilitation restored some of her life, but she wasn't the same. Five years ago, she checked into Terrace View Gardens in Cheviot.
       

Surmounting barriers

        Mrs. Headen says she gave up on college. But her son mentioned it to Terrace View's staff members, and they encouraged her, helping her re-enroll at UC. A social worker, Maggie Rahe, helped raise what UC's financial aid didn't cover.

        Mrs. Headen needed two history and two African-American Studies classes to graduate. Debbie Weitz, Terrace View's activities director, drove Mrs. Headen to class and took notes during the three- and four-hour sessions.

        “Without Debbie, I couldn't be where I am now,” Mrs. Headen says. “I run out of words to say about her.”

        Others also helped her surmount obstacles.

        On snowy days, when inconsiderate drivers blocked handicapped parking spaces and snow covered the wheelchair ramp, fellow classmates and a teacher lifted her into class. Once, when an elevator broke, her class moved to a ground-level room so Mrs. Headen could still attend.

        “I felt emotionally touched that they would do all that for me,” she says. “Humanity showed itself to me.”

        Even when Mrs. Headen looked fatigued, Ms. Weitz said, she wouldn't miss class. Most days she spends in Terrace View's lunchroom, her books and papers spread around her.

        Mrs. Headen's lesson: Pursue learning and encourage others, regardless of age or obstacles.

        Denise Smith Amos can be reached at 768-8395, or e-mail damos@enquirer.com.

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