Man 54, gets degree after cleaning for the college for 7yrs
Custodian, 54, who lost everything in the recession graduates with a mechanical engineering degree from a college he cleaned for nearly a decade
Michael Vaudreuil began cleaning Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2007
He took a job as a custodian after losing everything in the recession
The school offers tuition-free classes to employees, which Vaudreuil took
After eight years he has graduated with a mechanical engineering degree
Quote:
A 54-year-old custodian who cleaned the halls of Worcester Polytechnic Institute for almost a decade has graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from the college.
Michael Vaudreuil, whose life crumbled during the recession, said he had dreamed of the day he could walk onto the stage at his own graduation.
But 10 years ago, that seemed impossible.
Michael Vaudreuil (pictured), 54, a custodian at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, has graduated from the school with a degree in mechanical engineering
Quote:
His home, car and business were lost and he was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2007.
'It left our heads spinning,' he told CBS News. 'It happened so fast.
'I was just a shell of a person at that time.'
That's when he took the position cleaning the halls at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
The school offers tuition-free classes to its employees and Vaudreuil decided to study during the day and clean at night.
He found a passion for engineering and even developed his own prototype for a reusable dust fuel cartridge in the school's labs.
Vaudreuil cleaned the school for nearly ten years after he lost his job and filed for bankruptcy during the recession in 2007
Quote:
It took eight years to complete, but on May 14, Vaudreuil crossed the graduation stage and earned his engineering degree.
He took classes for eight years and even developed his own prototype for a reusable dust fuel cartridge in the school's labs before his graduation
