Education has no age limits. Louis Cimalore, a 65-year-old UNM graduate student, knows that as well as anyone.
Cimalore was a dual major in secondary education and history at the University of Rhode Island, but that was 41 years ago. This year he will receive his master’s degree in organization and information learning sciences (OILS) from UNM.
In the course of those 41 years, Cimalore said, he has experienced a lot. He has worked with several social programs, primarily focusing on people in low-income areas of Albuquerque. His job experience includes working for SNAP, otherwise known as food stamps, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a program that assists families in need mostly on a financial level.
Cimalore is currently a contractor for SL Start, a privately owned company that helps people find jobs. As a job coach, he helps people with their resumes and with finding jobs that suit them best. He also works with employers, connecting them to potential hires.
Cimalore also used to be the director of a program at the South Valley Economic Development Center, where he would assist people working on their GEDs, teach computer classes and even culinary classes. As director he would accompany people to different campuses for their GED testing; and from there, he knew that he wanted to go back to school.
“There was this one morning we came here to the UNM campus, and it was early in the morning. The testing started about 8:00 in the morning,” Cimalore said. “I was just watching those kids as we walked across campus, and I saw in them possibilities that they’ve never seen before. I could just see in their faces that this is something they’d dreamed that they’d never do, but I could feel a whole world of possibilities open up for them. I started thinking what my face would look like, in retrospect.”
After that, Cimalore said he enrolled at UNM as a non-degree grad. He said he wasn’t accepted to the first program he applied to because of his grades from his undergraduate degree many years ago, but was accepted into the second program he applied to, which was OILS.
On his downtime, he said his he and his wife like to attend shows at Popejoy Hall. Three of his favorites are “The Lion King”, “Wicked” and “Fiddler on the Roof”. Cimalore also enjoys watching sports, including football.
“I love the Jets. I grew up on the east coast,” said Cimalore. “I remember when the Jets won (Super Bowl III), it was the first time an American Conference team won and beat the Colts. They haven’t had many good teams since then, but they did do well that one year.”
Cimalore considers himself a life-long learner, whether he’s learning formally or informally. That doesn’t come without any mental setbacks, however: He has often questioned coming back to school at his age, but he said he is glad he did.
“There are a lot of times that voices inside of me would say, ‘What’re you doing at your age? What’re you, crazy? What’s the point of this?’” Cimalore said. “And the other voice would say, ‘Shut up!’ and I’m glad I listened to the second voice.”
Cimalore said he believes that education should be more accessible to everyone, regardless of their situation. He would also like to see public universities offer free tuition.
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“I really think we should make education more available for everyone,” Cimalore said. “I know it’s expensive, and I’d like to see us get to the point where anybody that’s capable can go.”
At 64, Cimalore embodies timeless education, and would even be up for more time in the classroom.
“These 40 years between the bachelor’s degree and the master’s degree ... whether I need it or not, I’m going to come back in another 40 (years),” he said jokingly.
Matthew Narvaiz is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @RealMattNarvaiz.
