In 1972 Bill Ritter was a semester away from a college degree when he was kicked out of San Diego State University for protesting the Vietnam War.
44 years later, Ritter, main anchor of WABC, is getting his degree in Media Studies from New York’s The New School.
“In 2012, urged by his children to get his degree, the Emmy Award-winning reporter and TV news anchor decided it was time to go back to school,” writes the university.
Ritter told TVSpy he initially went back to school to teach his kids, but said, “I’m the one that really learned.”
One of the projects he completed while at The New School, about the emergence of gardens in prisons, ended up being a story for ABC News and a sidebar for WABC. “I felt like I was doing something,” said Ritter. “Here I was incorporating my studies with my job. It was very rewarding.”
Ritter went on to affirm the old cliche that you’re never too old to learn, but added, “We all could live for a long time. What new challenges are you going to tackle?”
very excited… 44 years later… now i have to do what every college grad is faced with: look for a career! @ABC7NY https://t.co/R6OOEjsajg
— Bill Ritter (@billritter7) May 11, 2016
Here’s a picture some of his colleagues mocked up to make him look like a a student protestor.
