Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?

[Jolly]

Sorry, none of my folks had money.

[Copper]

Maternal grandfather BC 1916

Here, taking a break from the WW I trenches to have a smoke in Paris.

On the left is Uncle Pat - his future brother-in-law

[Horace]

Nope. One side farmer, the other side alcoholic entrepreneur. College degrees have gone from special to ubiquitous in two generations.

[LuFins Dad]

My grandmother got a second degree burn working in the kitchens at Duquesne, does that count?

[Mik]

My father did and was the first in his family AFAIK.

[Jolly]

@Horace said in Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?:

Nope. One side farmer, the other side alcoholic entrepreneur. College degrees have gone from special to ubiquitous in two generations.

Considering the quality of college graduates today, with the exception of STEM fields, I'd say a high school graduate of 65 years ago may have been better educated than the average college graduate today.

[Aqua Letifer]

I had a grandmother and grandfather who both had a master's. That's it, though.

[Klaus]

One brother of mine and I were the first in our family.

[89th]

On my dad's side, no. Grandpa in Army, Grandma nothing.

On my mom's side, yes. Grandpa (Naval Academy, also pilot), Grandma yes.

This reminds me I should try and capture the finer details of my relatives (only 1 grandparent living, btw) before it's too late...including any higher education and other life stories.

[jon-nyc]

@Jolly said in Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?:

Sorry, none of my folks had money.

That maternal grandfather lost his parents in a trolley accident at age 9. His sister raised him, and his brothers agreed to pay tuition. He worked for room and board.

Can’t imagine MIT was all that pricey in the 20s.

Dad did it with the GI bill.

[Doctor Phibes]

On my mum's side, no.

On my dad's side, I'm pretty sure yes. Public school, Executive Director of Unilever. What the hell happened?

[George K]

Paternal grandmother. University of St. Petersburg - chemistry, 1912 or so.

[Catseye3]

@Jolly

None here. My father had high hopes that I would be the first in the family to get a degree, too bad for him. I think he mostly wanted it to stick it to the old man, although he'd never have admitted that.

[Ivorythumper]

My paternal great grandfather had a doctorate in music from Heidelberg (he was American born of German parents). It then skipped two generations, until me and my brothers. My uncles (father's brothers) both had doctorates, but my dad didn't finish college though studied at Pratt for two years. My mother's family was Polish country stock, and I don't think any of them went to college, but I should ask mom.

[Nunatax]

My paternal grandfather, in economics. Not sure which university, one of the Belgian ones.

[jon-nyc]

By the way my grandfather went to his 60th college reunion in 1988. He was alive for the 70th but no event was held.

Another fun story - he learned he needed trigonometry and calculus to get into MIT. Neither were taught at his highschool so the principal agreed to teach him both subjects, one on one, in his office.

[xenon]

What did he do after college @jon-nyc ?

[jon-nyc]

Cradle to grave at GE. Started in ‘28. During the depression they had no layoffs but cut everyone’s pay. Eventually he joined the air conditioning division, then just starting, and made a career in it.

They moved the division (and the family) to Texas in 1953. At the time there was a big wave of industrial firms (mostly northeast and Midwest based) moving south for cheaper labor. Analogous to the offshoring phenomenon in the late 90s and aughts.

He retired in 1970 and lived for another 30 years.

[Catseye3]

@jon-nyc " . . . so the principal agreed to teach him both subjects, one on one, in his office."

What a great story!

[Larry]

One of my great grandfathers did. He had two doctorates, one in medicine, and one in music. He was a college professor for several years. Then one year he bought a farm, and spent the rest of his life raising hogs.