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Nontraditional student walks the stage after battling brain tumor

Written by Jhericca Johnson, The Shorthorn Staff
Monday, 10 December 2007 08:21 AM
Fall 2007 Graduation Candidates and Commencement Schedule Mary Acres is a 50-year-old interdisciplinary studies graduate and the only one out of 16 children in her family that will graduate from college. Acres had a brain tumor removed 12 years ago. ( The Shorthorn: Monica Lopez ) After living with 15 brothers and sisters, raising a daughter on her own and surviving a brain tumor, 50-year-old Mary Acres has one more accomplishment to put under her belt — graduating from college. The interdisciplinary studies senior and Chicago Bulls basketball fanatic will walk the stage with her classmates from the School of Urban and Public Affairs at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 in Texas Hall. Acres’ major was her own creation. Along with her major, she has an emphasis on African-American studies and minors in history and criminal justice. Acres said she had always wanted to pursue African-American studies, but that because the History Department didn’t have enough of those classes for her to graduate, Acres had to change her major. After telling her history adviser, Rachel Harris, what she wanted to study, Harris told Acres about interdisciplinary studies. Acres talked to the advisers in the department and found that she could make her own degree plan, she said. She was overjoyed when she realized she could combine her two favorite subjects — history and minority studies. “I’ve really enjoyed studying in interdisciplinary studies because you yourself can make your own destiny,” she said. “Being able to make your own degree plan helps you put together things that you sometimes would never think of.” Besides being a mother of a 27-year-old and the first of her siblings to graduate, Acres also has the pride of being a survivor. She was diagnosed with a meningioma brain tumor 13 years ago. The tumor was benign, so it was small and wouldn’t spread, she said. The only problem was that because of its size, it was hard to remove, she said. “I had horrible headaches and such excruciating pain that the whole left side of my face hurt,” she said. “It hurt so bad that my left eye shut close and wouldn’t open because of the pain.” Acres said that after three days of pain, she went to her doctor, who told her she probably needed glasses. However, after visiting an eye doctor, Acres was told a tumor could be seen through her dilated pupils. At first, doctors thought it was an aneurysm, a swollen blood vessel in her brain, Acres said. The doctors gave her an emergency magnetic resonance imaging scan to find out what it was and discovered her tumor. A month later, she underwent brain surgery. The surgery didn’t work, though. They waited for her swelling to decrease only to find the tumor still there, she said. The next procedure was a gamma knife, where radiation is used to “zap” the tumor out. “It was a godsend when my tumor went away just a year after that procedure,” she said. Acres said that since then, she has a stronger and greater willpower and feels like Job from the Bible. In the Bible, Job had 10 children, an abundant amount of land and 12,000 animals. However, he loses it all… and was covered in boils from head to foot. Despite his circumstances, he didn’t let that defeat him and his faith remained strong. Acres said she has a strong faith like his. “You have to have the will and the belief to get through things like that,” she said. “I’m like Job — I will not let anything defeat me.” Harris called Acres a dedicated and self-motivated student. Harris didn’t work with Acres for long, but in the time she did, Harris said Acres was responsible about everything she did. She said Acres was easy to communicate with and a pleasure to help. Harris believes Acres made her degree work for her. “To me, she seemed more interested in making sure she got what she wanted out of her degree, not in how long it took to get there,” she said. Acres’ daughter, LeKeia Acres-Smith, said her mother has become stronger since the surgery. Acres-Smith described her mother as having always been a feisty woman. But after the surgery, she said her mother began to do everything that the doctors told her she wouldn’t be able to. “The fight in my mom has been so much stronger than ever before,” she said. “Now, it’s like she does things because someone told her she couldn’t.” Acres-Smith graduated from Angelo State in May 2005 with a degree in finance. Now, she celebrates her mom’s graduation. “She embarrassed me just a little bit because she’s getting all these honors that I didn’t get in college,” Acres-Smith said. “But that’s OK, she’s worked hard for it, and she deserves it.” Acres-Smith said she didn’t know how to feel about her mother going to college at first. She tried to let her mother know that a lot had changed, especially in math. When Acres began school, that subject was her biggest struggle. Despite her issue with math, though, Acres-Smith said she knew her mother would do well once she passed her second semester. “I tried to talk her into living on campus after about her sophomore year, but she was against it,” she said. Acres-Smith said her mother’s classmates told her they love having her mother in their classes. They also said she’d make a really good teacher. “What’s funny is that my grandmother told her almost 30 years ago that she should be a teacher,” Acres-Smith said. “Now, after all that time, that’s what my mom’s aiming to be — a history teacher. She’s getting her master’s too, so maybe she’ll become a professor.” In addition to teaching, Acres said she wants to do more research on African-American history. She said she loves doing research and loves teaching, too. Acres-Smith is excited for her mother and said she’ll be traveling from her home in Missouri to see the graduation. “Lately, Mom’s been trying to find a way to spice up her cap and gown. She thinks it’s pretty ugly,” Acres-Smith said. “I told her that she wasn’t going to have to wear it for very long, but she can’t stand that it doesn’t have a collar.”
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 October 2008 04:32 PM )

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Commencement Schedule

All ceremonies will take place December 10 -14 in Texas Hall at 701 W. Nedderman Drive.

Thursday, December 10
School of Nursing - 7 p.m.

Friday, December 11
School of Social Work and University Studies - 11:30 a.m.
School of Architechure - 3 p.m.
School of Urban and Public Affairs - 7 p.m.

Saturday, December 12
College of Engineering - 9 a.m.
College of Liberal Arts - 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 13
College of Business - 12:30 and 4 p.m.

Monday, December 14
College of Science - 3 p.m.
College of Education and Health Professions - 7 p.m.

Graduate School

Baccalaureate Degrees