While the average Ohio State student finishes his education in four to five years, Bill Slabodnick has devoted an entire lifetime to getting an education – 80 years, in fact.

When is he ever going to finish school? “Probably never,” he said.

This is because Slabodnick is a lifelong learner. He has already received a degree in pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and a master’s degree in hospital administration from the University of Chicago.

He is now continuing his education in Columbus as a self-proclaimed Ohio Stater, taking courses through Program 60. This program encourages those who are at least 60 years old to sit in on classes for a mere $3 per year at OSU.

Even though attendance, papers and finals are not mandatory because participants do not receive formal course credit, Slabodnick insists on completing the course work.

“When I took German courses or language courses, I took the exams and did all the homework. I never missed an assignment,” he said.

Program 60 has given Slabodnick opportunities he said he would not have had otherwise. Aside from four quarters of German and his most recent endeavor in Hebrew, he continues to take classes in art and history.

Slabodnick said Program 60 participants can offer something to students they may not be able to get from a professor.

“They can bring some experience into the classroom,” he said. “These are real live experiences, real live people.”

Slabodnick served as a pharmacist for the army during World War II and recalled a course at OSU on the Holocaust in which he was able to relate to students an eyewitness account of a concentration camp in Germany.

“I described it the way I saw it,” he said. “On that Friday evening in the rain in April just before the last days of the war.”

Weeks after the quarter ended, the professor told Slabodnick a colleague of hers had a book that included information on the very camp he had described.

With comments from professors acknowledging the authenticity and usefulness of his memories, Slabodnick said he knew the contribution he and fellow Program 60 participants have given to the OSU community.

Likewise, the young students welcome their presence in the classroom.

“It’s more than mentorship,” he said. “You get a linkage with these people. That’s what’s so wonderful about this program. It really ties the generations together.”

Mike Hoza, coordinator of Program 60, said knowing Slabodnick for over 10 years has taught him significant life lessons.

“You learn that attitude is one of the most important things you carry through life,” Hoza said.

On a road trip they took together to Indiana, Hoza discovered Slabodnick’s unique ability to stay positive during the war.

“He talked for hours and put things in context about the absolute horror he’s seen,” Hoza said. “You don’t really get to talk to people about the things they’ve been through. You wonder why they haven’t been shattered by the traumatic and dramatic events.”

Slabodnick said he doesn’t allow the bad times to consume him.

“I tend to remember the things that aren’t bad,” Slabodnick said. “Yes, I can dwell on the other things, but I just don’t, – but that’s the way I am.”

Hoza said education may be one way Slabodnick keeps his bright outlook on life.

“You’re going to always find life is never going to get old, routine or boring if you keep learning,” Hoza said.

Slabodnick attributes his love for learning to his father.

“Nothing took a higher priority for his kids than an education,” he said. “The book is the best friend you got. Use it.”

Another interest that carried over from his father is his passion for music.

At age nine, Slabodnick said to his father he wanted to play the piano, but his father told him, “You will not play the piano. Your sister has taken lessons for three years and she can’t play ‘My Country ’tis of Thee.’ You will play the violin.”

Although he was initially disappointed with his father’s response, Slabodnick learned to love the violin.

He plays the violin for the Upper Arlington Community Orchestra and encourages everyone to attend a free concert on Nov. 24.

Olev Viro, the director of the orchestra, said Slabodnick is devoted to playing the violin and to playing in the orchestra.

“I very much enjoy his presence and miss him if he happens to not be there,” said Viro. “When conducting, I look at the violins, and he is always looking back.”

Slabodnick is retired, but pharmacy books lay on his table because he still keeps his license, though he has not filled a prescription in 40 years.

Slabodnick has received countless pharmacy, health services and writing awards over the years, including one from the Royal Society of Health. He admits the awards, ribbons and plaques he receives aren’t as important to him as the work itself.

“The best part of the day is going to work,” he said.

One may not guess his home belonged to a pharmacist or business administrator of any sort. Instead, it looks like Slabodnick was a curator for an art museum.

He keeps his awards tucked away in a back room, but boasts an impressive collection of artwork in his living room for all to see.

It ranges from contemporary art to international works from Jamaica, Spain and South America, to name a few. But his greatest collection is from a single artist: his late wife, Ann, who created an assortment of dolls, needlepoint work and rugs.

Slabodnick shares his love for the arts and learning with his loved ones. He and his wife have passed on the tradition to his two sons, both Ohio Staters as well, and five grandsons.

Looking back at all he’s seen and done, Slabodnick maintains that his many accomplishments are because of luck.

“I was always at the right place at the right time,” he said. “That’s the story of my life.”