Awni Issa, 51, of Schererville. graduates this May with a bachelor’s degree in business, accounting concentration.

When Issa graduated from high school in Kuwait, he immediately left home for better educational opportunities in the U.S. One of seven siblings, he was the first in his family to leave the country.

He landed at a college in El Paso, Texas, where he completed two years of schooling until his funds ran out. He was forced to drop out and find work, which led him to an uncle who could help in Indiana. He started working in a convenience store.

“My degree was still on my mind,” Issa said. “I definitely wanted to continue my education but financially, I couldn’t.”

Gradually, Issa built a successful business operating convenience stores, married and had five children. One by one, beginning with his wife, the family started pursuing their own college degrees.

First, his wife, Wafaa, earned an education degree and began teaching. Then, his first-born son, Hasan, graduated from IU Northwest with a degree in business marketing in 2015. His next son, Husam, pursued an automotive degree from Ivy Tech Community College.

“In the back of my mind, I still wanted to continue my education,” Issa said. “I didn’t have any chance though. As the family grew, I thought, ‘if I go to school, who is going to support the family?’”

In the meantime, supporting the family had become still more challenging. The business had been lost in 2012 over a financial complication with his partners.

Next in line for college was Issa’s daughter, Nada, who had chosen IU Northwest for her psychology degree. Issa’s longing to earn his own degree was stronger than ever.

“My daughter said to me, ‘why don’t you go to school?’ I said, ‘I don’t know if I would have the same knowledge and experience and be able to compete with 19- and 20-year-olds.’ I was almost 47.”

Despite his trepidation, Issa took the leap and enrolled in 2015, just a year behind his daughter. They were actually in a course together: Business 100.

“Everybody was so excited,” said Issa, about his official enrollment. IU Northwest had accepted 28 of his credits from his first college and he jumped in with both feet, earning his degree 3-1/2 years later.

Issa decided to pursue accounting because of his past business experience. Having an accounting degree will allow him to get the required experience to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam and eventually run his own business once again, this time in tax preparation.

There are two more high school-aged sons to get through college. But this time, Issa doesn’t have to patiently wait his turn as he watches them get their degrees. Instead, he can be there to offer fatherly advice.

“Sometimes I think that if I had this degree when I was younger and when I had first gone into business, I might have done something big,” he says, “I have so much knowledge now -- how to improve business, how to communicate with customers, how to handle money, and so much more. I learned this from experience but if I had the experience, plus the knowledge and the degree that would have been ideal.”

Now Issa can focus on financial security, building a new successful business and continuing his lifelong learning.

“I finally did it,” Issa smiles. “I needed a lot of encouragement and support from the family, but I finally did it -- at the age 51.”