Studio Arts Graduate Proves it is Never too Late to Start Anew

April 26, 2017

For Charles Edison Thomson, 52, the biggest challenge of returning to art school after a long, successful military and law enforcement career was not the dramatic change in vocation, it was the prolonged absence from student life.

“After 20 years away from college, it was really hard to get back into the mindset of being a full time student again,” said Thomson.

But just as he approaches most things in life, Thomson pursued this new endeavor with focus, perseverance, and optimism. 

“Whether in my professional or personal life, I’ve always attempted to achieve my best,” said Thomson. “I now consider being a student my current job and strive to do the best job that I can, just as I’ve done in law enforcement and in the military.”

With help from the Montgomery GI Bill, Thomson was able to finally pursue professionally the art that was once just a hobby. Fortunately, even in the military, Thomson found time to keep his artistic aspirations alive by taking on various creative tasks like designing a new logo and plaque for a Coast Guard technician school or silkscreening t-shirts for the crew of a ship stationed in Hawaii.

“I have always liked to personally create art as well as see the pieces made by other people, “ said Thomson. “However, sometimes the essentials of life come into play and you need to temporarily place the things you want to do in background and place things that need to do in the foreground.”

After graduating and taking some time off, Thomson hopes to return to school to pursue a master’s degree. Eventually, he would like to teach painting, figure drawing, digital photography or art history at the university level. 

The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.

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