By all accounts, Carol (Dahl Leacox) Livingston has loved a spectacularly profitable life as a lawyer, mom and spouse. However one factor has all the time been lacking.

On Could 14, that modified as she walked throughout the graduation stage in Memorial Stadium, her household cheering her on, a second 63 years within the making. She bought her diploma — Bachelor of Science in Enterprise Administration — for her research on the College of Nebraska from 1955-59.

“I did the work,” Livingston mentioned. “I knew I did the work. I did it on goal. It’s what I needed. I simply didn’t get to remain and end my hours.”

The popularity got here after Livingston’s daughter, Cathy Leacox Farman, despatched an e-mail to the college. After listening to her mother’s story of ending the work for a level however not receiving it, Cathy determined to make it proper.

“(Cathy) is from a unique technology,” Livingston mentioned. “And she or he’s completed fantastic issues along with her life. She simply needed this fastened for me. If I wasn’t going to do it, then, by golly, she was simply going to.”

Life at Nebraska U

Livingston, who grew up in Alliance, Nebraska, cherished her college years and spent them like most — dancing, soccer video games, constructing snowmen on snow days. She and her brother, William Dahl (Class of 1958), grabbed Reubens on Sundays at The Cornhusker Resort. A member of the Kappa Delta sorority, a devoted tutor to the soccer workforce, so environment friendly along with her schoolwork to the purpose the place associates made jokes.

“If I left the room saying I’ve bought to go research, they’d say ‘Oh, you higher get out the books. Carol’s gonna research this time,’ ” Livingston mentioned. “I had a fame of not finding out, however really I did. I simply did it when everybody else went to mattress.”

With virtually all commencement necessities accomplished in her senior yr of 1959, Livingston additionally had huge issues transpiring in her private life — she was married and pregnant along with her first baby.

Whereas not thus far previously, Mid-century America was a world away in ideology. It was usually mentioned tongue in cheek that girls attended faculty to get their “M-R-S Diploma.” Girls in enterprise had been a rarity with societal norms frowning on a lady in enterprise faculty, not to mention a pregnant girl working towards a profession. And for Livingston, with required courses accomplished within the prior seven semesters, an try and schedule non-obligatory enterprise courses for a last semester was rejected. And she or he was informed possibly Lecturers’ School could be a greater match.

“I needed to take the courses I needed to take,” Livingston mentioned. “My father was in enterprise. I needed to be in enterprise.”

So, Livingston didn’t attend class and bought an toddler — the beforehand talked about Dan Leacox — in April as an alternative of a diploma in Could. She thought she’d end within the subsequent fall semester, however, by then, she was anticipating Mike, her second baby. Then got here Cathy, adopted by Jeff.

The children grew to become her full-time job and Livingston moved on with out her diploma.

Throughout their childhood years, the children weren’t conscious of what occurred. They wouldn’t know till they had been grown that motherhood had price their mother a diploma.

“It’s by no means been outlined as Dan being the trigger,” Cathy Farman mentioned. “However now he will get countless grief for it.”

Life since Nebraska U

The children had been one, two, three and 4 when Livingston moved to Modesto, California, in 1963. For some time, they stored her occupied. She shortly grew to become busier as president of the native chapter of the League of Girls Voters and social issues chair for the Council of Church buildings.

As she grew to become concerned locally, she noticed the place she may very well be of assist. By means of the church buildings, Livingston began three meals banks and a daycare program to arrange deprived kids for college, encouraging individuals to do what they’ll, give what they might.

“Individuals are so joyful after they know what they’ll do,” Livingston mentioned.

Livingston began craving independence and needed to work for cash towards placing her youngsters via faculty — to get that, she realized, she would possibly simply have to return to high school. Enter second husband Gene Livingston, a lawyer who recommended legislation faculty. Nonetheless, she lacked that undergraduate diploma.

“Probably the most romantic factor I feel I ever heard in my life was when he mentioned, ‘I’ll assist you along with your tuition.’ That seemed like ‘I like you,’ ” Livingston mentioned. “I bought my training. (However) I would like a bit of paper. That was the toughest time as a result of I ought to have had my diploma then. After which if I needed to go to legislation faculty, I might simply have completed that.”

She earned that piece of paper at California State College, Stanislaus. The household moved to the southeastern United States when Gene taught legislation at West Virginia College, then to Davis, California, when he was employed by the governor.

Whereas she was in West Virginia, realizing they had been quickly going again to California, she tried to late-apply to College of California, Davis College of Legislation. Livingston, then in her late 30s, remembers calling the younger president of the King Corridor Girls’s Legislation Affiliation to plead her case. She requested for Livingston’s age, after which: “’Why would a lady of your age wish to go to legislation faculty?’ This feels like outdated instances.”

One other yr of ready it was. She began legislation faculty in fall of 1977, and through that point the household actually had to assist out, Livingston mentioned. Everybody needed to up their participation in family jobs to permit their mother be a pupil once more.

“It was such a change in my life,” Livingston mentioned. “I’d completed fantastic issues, actually enjoyable issues elevating the children, locally, and I actually loved that, and I felt completed about it. Once I went to legislation faculty it was extra about me, all people supporting me. That doesn’t occur to mothers a lot.”

Livingston and Farman had been the primary mother-daughter pair to graduate from UC Davis College of Legislation, Livingston in 1980 and Farman in 1985. Son Jeff adopted in 1988, one other first.

As a standard pupil, with far fewer tasks, Farman remains to be pleased with her mom to this day.

“I’ve all the time admired her for taking up the problem of legislation faculty whereas she was a mother of 4 youngsters,” Farman mentioned. “And it’s tougher to construct a profession whenever you’re in your 30s and 40s than it’s whenever you’re in your 20s. It’s simply tougher. She by no means stumbled. She simply was absolutely dedicated to the chance that got here to her along with her graduate diploma. And she or he constructed an incredible authorized profession, all of the whereas nonetheless being a mother to her 4 kids, after which a grandma to the 11 grandchildren which have come after.”

Livingston’s first job out of faculty was for a labor legislation agency in Sacramento, the place for 12 years, she labored for labor unions, litigated and negotiated contracts, and have become a accomplice within the agency.

Later she determined to pursue litigation and administrative legislation along with her husband — who had earned the nickname “Mr. Regulatory Legislation” — at his agency. Regulatory legislation was particularly gratifying to Livingston, as she set to work with the identical individuals through the years, making good associates with each purchasers and opponents. There she grew to become the managing accomplice.

“I used to be the boss,” Livingston mentioned. “I used to be the employer, and I needed to be an exquisite employer. And I needed to do it proper and have individuals who get pleasure from their office. They had been protected and effectively paid. That was my payoff.”

But, at first, she didn’t know if it might be sensible to work alongside Gene.

“There are humorous assumptions whenever you go to work along with your husband, that possibly you’re not the managing accomplice however you’re the administrator, otherwise you’re simply doing the workers work,” she mentioned. “I used to be an excellent lawyer, and I didn’t like that implication, however you simply robust it out after which you must show your self.

“Women all the time should show themselves.”

Livingston mentioned her id turned out to be a serious asset.

“I’m a feminine, girl-person,” she mentioned. “We like to speak and clear up issues, proper? And if I can’t work out this or that I’ve no hassle saying, ‘Hey, will you assist me take into consideration this?’ We’re totally different from our male counterparts. We’re fairly good and really profitable at that.”

She retired at 75. By then it was time to deal with her mother and father (who had been nearing 100) and throwing events for household birthdays, weddings and graduations.

Cathy’s thought

After her lengthy and eventful profession, Livingston’s lacking Nebraska diploma was however a small chapter within the household lore. It was a narrative to share with the children, however nobody thought a lot of it.

“As a feminine, it all the time was one thing I registered not in any explicit approach besides ‘Huh. That’s bizarre. That’s not proper,’” Cathy mentioned. “However nothing greater than that.”

Then Cathy raised her personal daughter prioritizing training, simply as her mother did for her. She began pondering extra about that lacking piece from 63 years in the past — how it might by no means occur in the present day, the way it shouldn’t have occurred then.

“As time went on, within the final 5 years, it was simply bothering me increasingly more,” Cathy mentioned. “As a result of as a world, as a nation, we’re simply a lot extra targeted on the wrongs of the previous and desirous about the best way to restore the wrongs of the previous. I assumed, effectively, all the things’s horrible, globally and nationally, however there’s one little fallacious that may very well be repaired.”

So, she did one thing about it. She emailed Shelley Zaborowski, Nebraska Alumni Affiliation government director, questioning about the potential for an honorary diploma — an excellent thought, although there’s an extended course of to acquire one. Zaborowski visited with Mike Zeleny, the chancellor’s chief of workers, and out of the blue the thought sprang forth — why not current Livingston her precise diploma?

“We care about her, we wish her to know that,” Zaborowski mentioned. “We would like her to really feel the Husker love, we wish her to be part of our household to the extent that she needs to really feel like a Husker. It simply felt just like the pure and proper factor to do, to have a good time this individual and welcome her with open arms.”

Gail Meyer, affiliate registrar, supplied oversight for the preliminary approval. Melody Torske in Commencement Companies pulled a level catalogue from the time Livingston was attending, evaluating necessities between the College of Nebraska transcript to College of California data. The commencement evaluation was handed alongside to the School of Enterprise, the place Jennifer Mostek, director of enterprise advising and pupil engagement, lastly gave the phrase {that a} diploma may very well be awarded. Dean Kathy Farrell signed off and it was a win for everybody concerned.

“We’re all about seeing college students graduate,” Meyer mentioned. “That’s what we’re right here for. And no matter we are able to do to assist a pupil obtain their objective to obtain their diploma — we take nice satisfaction in that.”

On Christmas 2021, along with her total prolonged household surrounding her, Livingston was stunned with a present. A pink sack with a giant N on it, Husker swag and pompoms overflowing. A certificates that mentioned she would, in any case this time, obtain her hard-earned and long-overdue diploma.

“It says hard-earned,” Livingston mentioned. “That was so essential as a result of I didn’t slide by. I earned that sucker. ‘Your hard-earned and long-overdue Bachelor of Science in Enterprise Administration. Welcome to the Husker alumni household.’ I cried and cried and cried.”

Commencement Day

At age 84, Livingston grasped her diploma. Turned the tassel to the left. Grew to become an alumna. Whereas in Lincoln she additionally caught lunch with Chancellor Ronnie Inexperienced, toured the campus and noticed how a lot has modified.

She was in for a giant shock when she was the School of Enterprise, now within the gleaming Hawks Corridor. Previous faculty good friend reunions had been additionally so as — Livingston says being an alumna offers an automated touchpoint for staying linked, one thing she beforehand missed out on.

This saga in the end has a satisfying conclusion, and Cathy will make sure that to move on her mother’s story to any future relations. It’s essential to have a good time the milestones, the victories.

“We grew up as a household combating for others’ rights,” Cathy mentioned. “We walked on picket traces and we participated within the voting course of. My mother was a kind of ballot staff who would choose up election outcomes. All the pieces again then was all in regards to the rights of individuals to vote, the rights of individuals for shelter, meals, to be handled with dignity and equity. That was my complete life rising up — my mother and father standing for that.

“The closure for that is that my mother and father had been doing this and but there have been injustices imposed upon my mother. It was actually essential that we additionally stand for the injustices that we personally skilled too. It’s one factor to try this for the world. It’s additionally needed to try this for oneself and one’s household.”

Study extra about Livingston and her journey on the Nebraska Alumni Affiliation web site.