Inspiring 86-year-old has been in college for 36 years

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Most of today's college students plan to do the usual four years of undergrad studies, get their degree, then enter the workforce.

For others, it may take a while longer.

Then there's the rare few who love campus life so much, they keep coming back for more.

Ann Dilley is one of those people.

She graduated from a college in Connecticut in 1950. While majoring in art, she also earned a degree in English literature.

In 1952, Ann and her husband, Newt, moved to Grand Rapids. It didn't take her long to become interested in metalsmithing, which is best described as crafting or making jewelry out of useful items.

"I went to a presentation at the Grand Rapids Art Museum where Beverly spoke," said Dilley, referring to Beverly Seley, a metalsmithing professor at Grand Valley State University. "I loved hearing about it so much, I became a student of it, and I've been doing it ever since."

Thirty-six years later, Ann is still a non-degree-seeking college student, currently enrolled in the metalsmithing class at Grand Valley, continuing her pursuit of education, and honing her craft.

Dilley works in the back of the classroom, but she's not invisible. She says many of the younger students are in wonderment when they see her there, but it doesn't take long for them to come to accept her and often leverage her knowledge of metalsmithing.

"I come from a long line of squirrels," said Dilley, jokingly. "Squirrels like to collect things."

Dilley admits the one thing she wasn't able to learn when she first attended college more than six decades ago was the willingness to stop learning.

"I guess I'm a perpetual student," she said, while continuing to work on her current craft project.

Her love for metalsmithing started back in the early 1960s, after her mother gave her a little white box which had been passed down through multiple generations in her family. Inside the box was a bloodstone and seven uncut cameos. While previous holders of the heirloom stored it away, Dilley says she was determined to use the materials to make something meaningful.

Thus, her passion for jewelry making was born. You name it, Dilley has likely re-purposed it.

She's crafted broaches from old diaper pins, hat pins, driftwood and seed pods. She's even created a broach from her father's old cigarette holder. She's currently crafting broaches for her two daughters made from wax flowers used in 1927 from her mother's wedding bouquet.

"It's not a hobby; it's more of a passion," said Dilley. "I think as one marches along in life, you need a passion because as you get older, a lot of things happen that aren't particularly pleasant, and this is what keeps me going."

Pieces of the past are being transformed into jewelry for the next generation.

"It has been a real joy to have Ann in class," said Beverly Seley, a professor of metalsmithing and the coordinator of the jewelry and metalsmithing program at GVSU. "She's always off on the next big idea."

Seley says she's been Dilley's metalsmithing professor at Grand Valley for all 36 years, and they've become best friends in the process.

Dilley possesses quite the creative mind, for a mind that happens to be "86 years old; I'll be 87 in November."

She says she plans to keep enrolling in college classes as long as her health allows.

"Even when I'm 102, that's fine," Dilley said. "I might not want to drive when I get to that age, but I could get a chauffeur, maybe."

She's always in the mood to transform trinkets, because her philosophy has always been, "School's never out."

"I'm a student," said Dilley. "I would hope to be one every bit of my life."

Dilley has worked her way through the entire jewelry and metalsmithing program at Grand Valley. Each semester, she continues to enroll in the two most advanced courses.

As a gift for her 86th birthday, Dilley's family established the endowed Ann Dilley Jewelry/Metalsmithing Scholarship, which is set up to financially help students who have interest in the program.

For further information about the department of art and design or about the Ann Dilley Jewelry/Metalsmithing scholarship, click here.