This past weekend, Fresno State senior Tom Shudic, age 70, joined 27 other students in receiving his viticulture and enology degree — the same week he collected his first social security check.

After retiring from Raytheon (a U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation) in 2013, Tom decided he wanted to earn his degree. He’d already fostered a love of home winemaking that dated back to the early 1980s when he started buying fruit and making Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Malbec, Pinot Grigio and Riesling wines.

He eventually met with former Fresno State viticulture and enology department chair, Dr. Jim Kennedy. Tom quickly signed up for Fresno State's program — considered one of the nation’s finest in the field for in its hands-on training in the winemaking process.

Since fall 2016, he has commuted each Monday from Burbank. This semester it meant leaving at 4:15 a.m. for his 9 a.m. cellar operations class, and each week he returned home after his final class on Thursday night or Friday.

Fresno State might have been 200 miles from his home in Burbank, but it still seemed a good fit, especially after Tom learned about the University’s academic fee-waiver program for students over the age of 60 who have never received a college degree.

Some of his most enjoyable enology classes have been taught by Dr. Kennedy, Clark Smith and Larry Brooks, he said. His course load also included classes in cellar operations, fermentation, business, chemistry, equipment, evaluation, microbiology and winery management.

“Coming here has been a wonderful educational experience, but the best part is all the interesting people I’ve met — both teachers and students,” Shudic said. “I have also learned, like a lot of students, that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. When I was in college before, I was aimless and bored, but I’ve been on a mission to get my degree this time around.”

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