Deb Stringer is proof that an old dog really can learn new tricks . At 65-years-old , Stringer strives to further her education at SCC . Her enrollment not only makes her the oldest student in her class , but the first ever female to take courses in SCC ’ s HVAC program .
After 46 years , Stringer makes her school comeback , taking Heating and Humidification , Heat Pump Application , and Journeyman Preparations . Despite being the oldest and only female in the class , Stringer already feels comfortable with her new classmates and instructor , Steve McCowan . She adds that “ their mommas would be proud .”
Stringer says she ’ s also already been labeled as “ the teacher ’ s pet .” During a lab exercise , the class was short on tools for all the students , so Stringer went out to her truck and returned with a packed tool box of her own . “ With all the men there , the woman was the only one who showed up with tools of her own ,” she bantered .
Instructor McCowan can testify to her performance , saying he ’ s “ very proud to have a student like [ her ] in the program . “ I ’ m thankful that [ she ] decided to come to college and to my class to learn new things and keep me on my toes ,” he stated .
Outside of being a student , Stringer finds herself tied with a downtown building that she grew up with . The John Sherman Cooper Community Arts Center in downtown Somerset has a long history , one of which Stringer has been a part of . When it started off as a post office , she ’ d buy stamps from them when she was a little girl . When it became a library , she often visited for school trips . Now , she ’ s become co-director for the non-profit arts center that it is today .
Stringer proudly promotes it as something that “ offers a whole new world for anyone with a creative thought .” With help from volunteers , the center offers a wide variety of programs and activities for aspiring artists and the general public .
However , being such an old building , the arts center is long due for repairs , the most prominent being its heating and air . Stringer says that it ’ s been hard for them to bring in guests with it being so hot . This hardship is credited with being what drove Stringer to joining the HVAC Program .
Estimates show that repairing the art center ’ s air
2022 SENIOR LIVING • 17