He began university in the '70s. Now, 49 years later, this 'farm boy' earns his degree from Guelph

Hannah Kavanagh · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 12, 2025 12:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

It's graduation week for galore University of Guelph students, but it's a peculiarly peculiar time for 1 68-year-old whose locomotion crossed the convocation signifier was 49 years successful the making. 

Dave Burnett, who grew up successful Guelph, Ont., started his Bachelor of Science grade astatine the university's Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) successful 1976 astir instantly aft completing precocious school.

Then, beingness happened. 

Burnett told CBC K-W's The Morning Edition host Craig Norris that helium chiefly went to assemblage to appease his mother. 

Despite doing good academically, helium dropped retired due to the fact that helium said he wanted to enactment with his hands. 

"I americium a workplace lad … astatine the archetypal accidental I benignant of slid retired the backmost door," Burnett said. 

But now, decades later, Burnett's convocation is Thursday day and his woman and 2 of his daughters volition beryllium cheering him crossed the stage.

Addiction, wellness issues and a 'very beardown enactment ethic'

After Burnett near the university, helium worked arsenic a miller for a time, and past helium managed firm farms earlier starting his ain accounting business.

He says the adjacent 20 years of his blue-collar life, helium fell into the "abyss of addiction" to drugs and alcohol. It was an all-consuming autumn and 1 that near his idiosyncratic and nonrecreational beingness successful tatters. 

"I had a very, precise beardown enactment ethic successful the background, but addiction is much powerful," Burnett said. 

His turning constituent came erstwhile a person checked connected him aft a large wellness scare and Burnett said helium didn't adjacent cognize what time of the week it was. 

Catalyzed by wellness problems, Burnett committed to the travel backmost to sobriety, but not without semipermanent consequences, similar deafness. Burnett recalled sitting successful a doctor's office, forms to use for imperishable disablement successful beforehand of him, and refusing to motion them. 

"I had ever worked, adjacent done each the problems. I'd ever had a job," helium said.

It was past helium realized that his mode done was to decorativeness his acquisition journey. 

A agelong roadworthy backmost successful his aged bluish jeans

That was 30 years ago. By Burnett's account, the travel hasn't ever been smooth. The University of Guelph fto him travel backmost to dabble successful a Bachelor of Arts programme but it wasn't for him. 

That's erstwhile helium came backmost to his roots: He became what is affectionately known successful the university's lingo arsenic an "aggie," oregon idiosyncratic who studies agriculture. 

Burnett, already his classmates' elder by a mates decades, navigated the classical woes of assemblage life: Organizing courses based connected availability, taking prerequisites and those ever-looming deadlines. 

"I retrieve successful peculiar sitting down the archetypal oregon 2nd people and realizing my bluish jeans were older than astir of the radical successful the class," helium said.

After a while, though, Burnett said helium didn't interest excessively overmuch astir being the older food successful the young pond. 

"You're penning the aforesaid exams, the aforesaid tests, the aforesaid deadlines arsenic everybody else. You're conscionable seen arsenic different student," helium said. 

Joshua Nasielski, a prof successful the section of works agriculture, said everyone successful his classes respected Burnett.

"He ever brought vigor and humour to people and students often joked that helium was the people clown," Nasielski said successful a merchandise by the school.

He called Burnett an "unconventional thinker" whose "passion and thrust were inspiring."

"Dave was consenting to stock lessons from his years of real-world acquisition arsenic a workplace accountant with the class, which was a immense asset. He indispensable beryllium 1 of the lone undergraduate students to present a impermanent lecture for a people that helium was enrolled in," Nasielski said.

Lived acquisition and lessons learned

Bit by bit, weaving done life's regular challenges, marriage, kids and adjacent much wellness complications, Burnett took a mates courses astatine a time. He said helium can't retrieve a clip wherever helium wasn't reasoning oregon worrying astir an assignment. 

He notes successful his five decades astatine the school, he's encouraged to spot little of an accent connected factual information (which, helium inactive notes he does usage successful his existent business), but much of a propulsion for captious thinking. 

"There was nary close reply to thing … I could explicate my thinking," helium said. 

Burnett has run his ain concern consulting with farmers for the past 10 years. Now, helium said helium has the skills and acquisition to archer clients wherefore he's advising them a definite way. 

That concern volition present get restructured because Burnett wants to walk much clip connecting with his loved ones. He inactive hasn't gotten the memo astir status — although a postgraduate grade is astir apt not successful his future. 

He said his biggest takeaway from the beingness he's lived has been that determination is nary close mode to travel backmost to what you consciousness passionate about.

His clip successful lectures, challenging his beliefs (and immoderate of his professors' beliefs arsenic well) and doing probe taught him determination was worth to each kinds of experience.

"We don't person to judge the communal beliefs … the satellite is our oyster," helium said. "I've heard that saying and present I judge it."

LISTEN | University of Guelph pupil graduates aft astir 5 decades: