BANGOR – Daniel Dill Sr. has completed tours of duty in all four major armed forces, spent 13 years as a millwright and is the father of four children and grandfather of 10. Most people would settle for that as a career.

Not so for Dill, who at 53 has enrolled in the two-year associate degree program at the New England School of Communications, an affiliate of Husson College.

The Lincoln man, who is interested in the digital media offerings of the school, joined the U.S. Marines in 1969 after graduation from high school in Connecticut and later served tours of duty with the U.S. Naval Reserve, the Air Force Reserve and the Army National Guard.

He has served all over the world, including Okinawa, Japan; Puerto Rico, Wake Island, Guam and Kuwait. After his Marine service, he obtained two associate degrees in Hawaii, one in the applied trades and one in religious education.

In 2001 Dill was activated by the Air National Guard in Bangor, serving with the 101st Civil Engineering Squadron as a staff sergeant. An injury to a right arm tendon and other medical problems brought about his discharge and was offered an opportunity to return to a position at Lincoln Pulp and Paper mill.

But the mill shut down, and Dill didn’t feel right about taking a job made for him because of his active duty disabilities.

When the government offered him the opportunity to retrain under a Training and Development Corp. program, Dill jumped at the chance. His interest in computers led him to the New England School of Communications, where he has expressed an interest in television production and Web site design.

Now in his third entry into higher education, Dill is taking six classes with 15 credit hours and is sitting in classrooms with students who are younger than some of his own children.

How does he feel about sharing classroom space with those so much younger?

“It’s not a problem for me,” Dill said. “Sometimes I can help them and sometimes they can help me.”

With a daily commute from Lincoln, his activities in the community where his wife is a teacher at the Greater Lincoln Christian Academy and with a full class schedule, Dill is busy. For relaxation, the rhythm guitar player likes to write Christian songs and record them, “mostly for my own enjoyment,” he said. “Nothing fancy.”

He is not sure what the future holds in terms of a career in communications, but one thing is certain, Dill is determined to graduate with either an associate degree or bachelor’s of science degree.

“Who is the oldest student ever to graduate from NESCom?” he asks.

That answer isn’t readily available, but maybe Dill will be right up there when his commencement is held.