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Sylvia Karp: I think he's got an amazing story. And he has been an inspiration to so many students here, and also to staff and teachers here, because it's such a feel-good story.

Delores Drobot: He really wanted to get that high school diploma, because he dropped out when he was 16. He was saying how he really didn't like school to begin with, and the war gave him a good excuse.

Frank Ganz: I went to all my grandchildren's graduations. And I've got lots of grandchildren. And every time I went, I just had the feeling god, I wish I could be up there with them getting my diploma. And that went on. Now I started going to the college graduations. That's when I said, I gotta do it. I gotta do it. I gotta find out how. And then I found out about MAEP.

Tom Heim: Things don't stick with you quite as well as they do when you're younger. And I think that was difficult for Frank, but he did not lose his dedication. I was always inspired by that. He would struggle, and stick with it, and really-- wanting to get through the program and get that diploma meant so much to him that he would put in all the extra effort it took, even though his memory wasn't as good as it had been earlier in his life.

Frank Ganz: When it came to history, and the United States, and early government-- things like that-- that was easy for me. Well, easier for me, because I lived through that era. That part wasn't too bad. But then came algebra. When it came to algebra, I had a tough time. But the MAEP has so many tutors, and I got hooked up with the best-- you know, Tom Heim.

Delores Drobot: Really conscientious, I mean, about his studies. And if he couldn't make it, like sometimes he and Laverne would go on a cruise. I mean, he'd tell you long before, and he'd want his work so he could do it before and do it as soon as he came home so that the next meeting when he was here it would be done.

Frank Ganz: Anybody that really wants to do it, there's absolutely no reason why you can't do it with the MAEP system.

Tom Heim: Here's an older student, somebody that the students would look at and say why would he bother to do this? He's already in retirement. He's comfortable. He doesn't have to do this. And I think he could bring that fatherly vantage point. He had grandchildren that would be some of their ages, and he could relate very closely to them and tell them, don't give up.

Martha Burns: We had been pulling for Frank from the beginning. And then to go through whatever it was-- four years of seen him come in every week and more than once when he had tutoring-- but seeing him always coming in and cheering all of us up. And even if you were having a difficult day, you couldn't not smile, because Frank was there.

Suzi Glass: And he continues to be an inspiration. To anybody who calls up and says, well, I may be too old-- I'm 45-- my response is have you told them about Frank? So he's definitely given us fodder for helping to convince people who aren't so convinced and aren't so committed as he was.

Susan Andersen: He really inspired at least one, maybe three or four or five, of my other students. He was a catalyst for good things in this place-- really, really good things.

Tom Heim: It's a tribute to your dedication, and to your desire to apply yourself and make the most of yourself, and to achieve goals that you were unable to achieve earlier in your life.

Frank Ganz: I mean, I didn't expect all this stuff. I just was doing it because I felt I had to do it. I wanted to do it. You have that feeling. And with this system that you have, there's no greater system. It's easy for anybody to do it.

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