PRESQUE ISLE ? Five years ago, Avis Connors decided that it was time to further her education. She signed up for classes, attended them faithfully and saw her diligence pay off Saturday when she received an associate degree in liberal arts.

Her experience was not unlike that of many of the other 326 graduates at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s 96th commencement, except for one thing.

Avis Connors is 86 years old.

Sporting the traditional cap, hood and gown before the ceremony in Wieden Hall, Connors said that she didn’t plan to march during commencement when she first began her college career.

“I guess I didn’t think that I’d make it this far,” she joked.

The Houlton resident did not go to college after her 1937 high school graduation because her family didn’t have enough money to send her. When she turned 82, however, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She took a handful of classes per semester at UMPI’s Houlton Higher Education Center until she accomplished her dream.

Connors’ achievement was one of many highlights of the two-hour ceremony.

UMPI interim President William A. Shields inspired gasps of awe from the crowd when he announced that this year’s graduating class was the largest in the institution’s history.

Tom Ewell, the commencement speaker and executive director of the Maine Council of Churches, urged graduates to hold true to their core values as they continued on with their lives. He spoke of using cooperation and honest dialogue as a means to end conflict among politicians and nations.

He also advised the group to work hard.

“You can be a lot of things, but you’d better be willing to work,” Ewell said.

Valedictorian Amy Whitmore, a business and accounting major from Farmington, told classmates to “pledge allegiance to yourself” and also pegged hard work as being crucial to success.

Whitmore held down a full-time job and taught dance while attending UMPI. She plans to take a year off before pursuing a master’s degree in business administration.

“Persistence is a sign of greatness,” she said during her address.

While many smiled at the valedictorian’s advice to enjoy their graduation day and “worry about their future tomorrow,” her advice was lost on one new alumnus who was leaving the ceremony with his diploma.

“Now I’ve got to find a job,” the unidentified graduate said aloud.