Lorraine Nussel
Lorraine Nussel is my mother-in-law. Like many women of her generation, she skipped college for marriage and motherhood. She did double-duty rearing her sons while her husband taught junior high during the day and worked on a Ph.D. at night. In fact, she typed his dissertation twice. Lorraine's husband, Dr. Edward Nussel, spent his entire academic career at University of Toledo in the College of Education. But along the way, Lorraine realized the best example she could give to her three sons was to continue her education, showing that women could follow their own dreams without abandoning the responsibilities of her family. When the youngest went to school, Mom followed right along working on a bachelor's degree in education. It's not easy to be a non-traditional student in a sea of young women and there were a number of frustrations along the way with no organization like the Eberly Center for which to turn. But finally in 1977, Lorraine received her bachelor's degree in education. In a funny story, she cut in front of her son, Jay, who also graduated that day, in order to say she graduated from college before any of her children. After graduation, Lorraine is best known for her work as a docent at the Toledo Museum of Art where she passed on her love of art to hundreds of Toledo's young people. Today, Lorraine spends her time enjoying her grandchildren and in many voluntary pursuits, but she remains a stalwart champion of women pursuing higher education at any age.
Jill Nussel