Illustration by Ian D. Loomis
Claudia Dionne, a fine arts student at WCC, stands in front of her artwork in her living room, which doubles as her art studio. Shelby Beaty | The Washtenaw Voice
by RUBY GO
Staff Writer
Claudia Dionne was in the tenth grade when she dropped out of school in her hometown of Baddeck, Nova Scotia, and she was in over her head. Her father was ill, and her mother had to work. Being the second eldest of seven (her oldest brother died), Dionne often had to stay home to watch over her younger siblings, which meant less time for studying and more time for babysitting. She began to struggle with her classes to the point where she was failing most of them, and she eventually decided to just quit school altogether. She raised four children, moving to the US nearly 30 years ago in hopes of giving them a better education.
Now, after all these years, at the age of 72, Dionne is starting anew.
“I always wanted to go back (to school), but life happened,” Dionne said.
Dionne plans to graduate from WCC in May 2022 with an associate’s degree in fine arts, and she also earned a liberal arts degree from WCC back in 2019. This opportunity to continue her education did not come until all of her children, one of whom has Down’s syndrome, were fully grown and off to college, although her son with Down’s syndrome still lives with her.
“Him and I decided it was time for mommy to go back to school and do something other than housework every day,” Dionne said.
However, many people are apprehensive about going back to school, and Dionne was no exception.
“I was thinking all these things like, ‘Do I really wanna go back to school? Am I gonna make a fool of myself?’ Because I’m old, obviously,” Dionne said.
But Alzheimer’s disease runs in the family; a large portion of her mother’s family died from complications brought on by the disease. Dionne felt that, in order to prevent herself from such complications, going back to school would be the right move, so she began to look for community colleges in the area. When she discovered that WCC had an emeritus scholarship program, where she could take all of her classes for free, she was sold. The fact that the college is seven minutes away from her home was just an extra perk.
In 2014, Dionne began studying at WCC. That same year, she also took the test to earn her GED and passed. She earned a 3.8 GPA during her liberal arts program and has been able to maintain a 4.0 GPA in her fine arts program.
A black and white drawing done by Dionne. Shelby Beaty | The Washtenaw Voice
“It has taken me a while to get it done, but I place my priorities on my family and home. They come first,” Dionne said.
When the pandemic hit, Dionne says it did not affect her too badly. While she has mixed feelings about being a virtual art student, she says that the pandemic allows her to spend more time with her husband of 50 years, who would otherwise be making a one-hour commute each day to his job in Ohio.
“I don’t know what I would do without his support. Since he works from home now, I get to see him more often,” Dionne said.
After graduating from WCC, Dionne is uncertain of what path she will take. She wants to earn a Ph.D. in fine arts and has received invitations from several top universities, including Columbia University and Harvard, but she worries that, if she does further schooling, she will not have enough time left over to paint, an activity which takes up most of her days.
“It’s a nice, fun thing to be able to say you’ve gone to Harvard. But then if I do that, I’m never gonna be able to paint,” Dionne said. “I just wanna paint. I’ll paint 12, 13, 15 hours a day if I’m not in class.”
Dionne’s paintbrush set. Shelby Beaty | The Washtenaw Voice
Despite her love of painting, Dionne says that it is not her biggest motivator when it comes to furthering her education in fine arts, nor is pursuing a career. A fourth-generation artist, she feels that she does not have the natural ability of her father and siblings.
“They’re the kind of people that could sit here and draw you in just a few minutes. That’s not me,” Dionne said.
Instead, her main source of motivation is to prevent herself from ending up like her mother’s side of the family and dying from Alzheimer’s. Also, even if she were to go on to attend Harvard (her top choice), she would do it all virtually. While she says it would be an amazing opportunity to physically attend Harvard, her family remains her top priority.
“I would never leave my family. I wouldn’t be that selfish,” Dionne said.
The rise and fall of an online empire
You might laugh in disbelief if a 72-year-old told you they were once an avid video gamer. But Dionne doesn’t play around (no pun intended) when it comes to her old favorite pastime.
“I used to be a gaming addict,” Dionne said.
Dionne used to be a beta game tester for Microsoft. She began by testing software and eventually graduated to testing video games, one of which being EverQuest, which was first released in 1999 for Windows PCs.
She also began developing chat rooms for the online games, where she met a lot of people; eventually, together, they formed their own online “kingdom,” where they essentially roleplayed as characters during medieval times.
“I had a king, I had children… I had a whole life developed,” Dionne said.
Dionne began to realize that the gaming world was taking up too much of her life, so she decided to take her online kingdom and transfer it into a book, which she titled “The Artesian Dragonlands.” She started the book 20 years ago and is not currently working on it.
“I know (the book) is never gonna get written, but I’m not gaming anymore,” Dionne said. “There just isn’t time for anything other than my family and school.”
Here’s to you, WCC
Dionne expresses much gratitude towards WCC. She says the emeritus scholarship has been instrumental in allowing her to focus on her education rather than finances, which would otherwise be handled by her husband.
“Thanks to the scholarship, I don’t have to feel like a burden to him,” Dionne said.
She also thanks the faculty for their kindness and understanding.
“At the end of the day, I think WCC really, really cares… I will forever be grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to finish my education,” Dionne said. “My life motto is that it’s never too late. I mean, look at me. Look at where I am now.”
A see-through chair in front of an easel with one of Dionne’s paintings in the background. Shelby Beaty, The Washtenaw Voice
