71-Year-Old Student Gives New Meaning to Senior on Campus 

James Evans, a 71-year-old Africana Studies major at Rutgers University-Newark, marvels at how his life has come full circle. “My younger self would have laughed out loud,” he says. “Back then, college wasn’t even on the radar. I was a teenage rebel – actually, more of an idiot. Would a smart person get expelled from high school his senior year for truancy?”

Forced to leave school in 1972 at the age of 18, Evans credits his mother with setting him straight. “She didn’t tolerate any nonsense,” he says. “She made sure I earned that GED right on schedule with my peers.”

Now, as a senior citizen on campus, Evans is older than most of his professors, let alone his classmates. But he considers his age an asset.

“In many of the classes, I have a bit of an advantage,” says Evans, who has called Newark home for 38 years. “I lived through the history we discuss. It’s powerful to see my life connect with the broader story we’re learning about.”

Throughout decades of working as an office services manager in New York and New Jersey, he took courses part time at Essex County College – inspired by a love of learning. When he earned his associate’s degree in 2024, his advisor encouraged him to apply to Rutgers-Newark. As soon as he was accepted, he enrolled without hesitation, beginning his junior year in Africana Studies this past fall.

“I was 70, and it was now or never,” Evans said of his decision to pursue his BA.

Professor Wendell Marsh, who teaches Evans in his course "Islam and the African American Experience," describes Evans as an "absolute treasure."

“He should be honored and celebrated for the wealth of insight he brings into the classroom from his lived experience," Marsh says. "I am a better teacher for having had him as a student."

This semester, Evans continues to step outside his comfort zone. He’s taking a course on hip-hop. “I grew up with the Temptations and James Brown, and it’s not my favorite music,” he says. “But I’m keeping an open mind. It’s always interesting to hear new perspectives.”

A Life of Resilience

Evans grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, and moved as a teenager to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his mother and older sister, Carolyn. After earning his GED, he entered the workforce. His first job was in office services at the New Jersey Division of Disability Determinations Services, where he got his start in mailroom operations. “I became a much better worker than I’d been a student,” he says.

But he yearned for new challenges and, in the early 1980s, enlisted in the Army. After completing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he served nearly two years with an engineering battalion at Fort Benning, Georgia, before leaving the military. Although his military career was brief, it left a lasting impact. “It taught me discipline,” he says, “and gave me an opportunity to reflect on what I wanted in life.”

In many of the classes, I have a bit of an advantage. I lived through the history we discuss. It’s powerful to see my life connect with the broader story we’re learning about.

James Evans

Returning to the East Coast, Evans moved to Newark and established himself in office services, working for companies like Thomson Financial and McKinsey. During his 14-year tenure at Thomson, he took on roles of increasing responsibility, including overseeing operations as a facilities manager in the New York office, a period he considers the highlight of his career.

Corporate downsizing eventually led him to pivot, taking on operations roles at a public relations firm and a law office. Through it all, Evans stayed rooted in his community, becoming an active member of New Hope Baptist Church in East Orange. There, he delivered announcements and reflections on Black history and culture.

“It began with just a few thoughts during morning services,” he says. “Before long, people were asking me to speak at both the early and late services. I’d cover topics ranging from Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, to the Eastern New York Correctional Facility debate team defeating Harvard. I did this every Sunday at 7:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. for about 25 years.”

The Road Back to School

In 1994, Evans took his first college courses at Essex County College through an employee education program at Thomson, which covered most of his tuition. Initially, he pursued journalism, drawn by his love of storytelling. But when he returned a few years later, the program had been discontinued, so he switched to Africana Studies.

For Evans, the field is vital. “It offers a lens to examine the experiences of African people and the African diaspora while fighting the erasure of Black history,” he says. He’s particularly troubled by policies limiting the teaching of African American history and restricting discussions of race in classrooms. “If nobody pushes back, we risk losing entire generations of knowledge and culture.”

A Legacy of Learning

Now living in senior housing in Newark, Evans leads a modest yet fulfilling lifestyle. He spends his days studying, reading, and staying informed with a subscription to The Washington Post. While his library still holds treasured biographies of James Brown and Sam Cooke, as well as classics by James Baldwin and Richard Wright, most of his reading these days is done on his Kindle.

His friends and family are inspired by his journey. “Most think it’s incredible,” he says. "They’re always asking how my classes are going and when I’m going to graduate. A group of my friends – we go back 60 years – are already planning the party.”

At 71, Evans shows no signs of slowing down. This semester, he enrolled in four courses, bringing him to campus every weekday except Friday.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ve got left,” Evans says. “But whatever time I have, I’ll do my best – whether in a classroom or a church – to make sure our history is preserved and passed on.”