Surviving Lymphoma Inspires Yardley, Pa. Man to Complete His Degree

A diagnosis of lymphoma forced Capasso out of the classroom and into the hospital. Battling the disease placed him in the intensive care unit at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pa., where he was connected to a respirator for nine days. During those days, Capasso thought about his five-year old daughter, his wife and the things he still wanted to do with his life.

“There are epiphanies that happen at times like that,” recalled Capasso, of Yardley, Pa. “I made a lot of promises to myself, which I have kept.”

One of those promises was going back to college to finish his degree. Capasso first attended college shortly after graduating high school in 1980, but left after a two semesters. 

“Earning 120 credits always seemed so daunting to me. It never seemed like a possibility for me going the traditional route,” said Capasso, an information technology manager at Bristol Myers Squibb in Lawrenceville, N.J.  “All along, I felt like I had a monkey on my back, which was not finishing my bachelor’s degree.”

Before his diagnosis, Capasso started to talk to his young daughter about the importance of education when he realized he needed to finish his degree. He enrolled at a college, but fell seriously ill and was eventually diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma a few weeks before classes were scheduled to start.

After his lymphoma went into remission and Capasso was able to return to work, he remembered the promise he made to himself and took an online course. Once he realized he enjoyed online learning, an aunt and uncle who were educators suggested Capasso consider Thomas Edison State College.

“I was just blown away by everything Thomas Edison State College offered. It had everything I needed and everything I wanted,” he said. “The flexible scheduling was awesome.”

Capasso said he enjoyed the various methods of completing course work, including prior learning assessment and testing, which enabled him to earn college credit by demonstrating knowledge he had acquired outside the classroom.

Capasso said he completed most of his course work in the late evening and early hours of the day, which allowed him to spend time with his family and did not interfere with his professional responsibilities.

In fact, some of his colleagues have asked him what it was like at Thomas Edison State College.

“I’m telling everyone that it is intense, but that they can do it,” said Capasso, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in General Management. He also earned an Arnold Fletcher Award, which recognizes exceptional academic achievement among bachelor’s degree graduates.

Capasso will join approximately 375 graduates from 26 states and Saudi Arabia who are planning to travel to the War Memorial in Trenton to accept their diplomas at the College’s 37th Annual Commencement ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009.

The College will award more than 2,500 degrees in 2009 and has awarded more than 34,000 degrees since it began providing flexible, high-quality, collegiate learning opportunities for self directed adults in 1972.

About Thomas Edison State College
Thomas Edison State College provides flexible, high-quality, collegiate learning opportunities for self-directed adults. One of New Jersey’s 12 senior public institutions of higher education, the College offers associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in more than 100 areas of study. Students earn degrees through a wide variety of rigorous and high-quality academic methods that can be customized to meet their individual needs. Identified by Forbes magazine as one of the top 20 colleges and universities in the nation in the use of technology to create learning opportunities for adults, Thomas Edison State College is a national leader in the assessment of adult learning and a pioneer in the use of educational technologies. The College is home to The John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy. The New Jersey State Library is an affiliate of Thomas Edison State College. Further information about admission to the College may be obtained by calling (888) 442-8372, via e-mail at info@tesc.edu or by visiting the College Web site at www.tesc.edu.