​Bailey Pigford knows what he wants to do for a career: work with seniors in the health field.

Pigford has a lot of empathy for older Americans since, at age 79, he is one of them. Age hasn’t stopped him from working hard for his goal. At the Dec. 14 graduation of students in the continuing education department’s medical programs at Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) in North Carolina, he proudly received his phlebotomy certificate.

He’s already enrolled in the Nurse Aide I program at the college.

“I retired from Honeywell in 1997,” Pigford said. “I got up one morning and said, ‘I got to be doing something.’”

He was interested in the health field, so he called CCCC for information about its programs and signed up. Now, he’s looking forward to his new career field.

His daughter, Carla Peters, and wife, Fairbell, were on hand to congratulate him following the graduation ceremony. Peters, a 1988 graduate of CCCC’s associate degree nursing program, said she proud of her father’s accomplishment.

Pigford was one of 485 students who completed their medical courses during the fall semester.

“It is very rewarding to see them finish,” said Judy Farmer, the programs’ coordinator. “Many have overcome hardships in their lives to achieve this goal. Now, they have skills to take into the job market.”

Many of the graduates were now, like Pigford, entering on their second or third careers. Amanda Byrd had worked as a teaching assistant for 13 years, then in banking for 15 years. When she was laid off, she decided to see it as a positive—an opportunity to return to college and gain the skills to work in the health care field. She received a certificate in phlebotomy.

McDonald is a writer for Central Carolina Community College.