Edward Salkin never felt the urge to return to school once he finished, because he never left. At 80 years old, Salkin has been a student his entire life.
Bright-eyed Salkin sits in the front row of Denise Cucurny’s physical anthropology class at Cal State Long Beach. After dabbling in foreign language, theatre arts, economics, kinesiology, piano and computer classes, he has finally committed to a major despite his tendency to explore. Salkin said he plans to graduate with bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 2016.
A firm believer in the power of education, Salkin said he chooses to spend his life in the classroom because information is a gem that will be lost if not continually reinforced.
After graduating high school, Salkin went on to junior college to study pediatric dentistry. Soon after that he enlisted in the Army and was sent to work for a dental program in Frankfurt.
Salkin later taught pediatric dentistry at University of Southern California for six years. He currently has a dentistry practice in Huntington Beach, and while retirement is not on the horizon, he continues to enrich himself as he studies at CSULB.
He also once worked as a tour guide at Los Angeles’ La Brea tar pits, and has collected many fossils and early artifacts of man. He even brings some of them to class to enhance lectures in a hall of nearly 100 students.
“It’s the most interesting museum in the world, because what you see there is what was found there,” Salkin said.
Salkin even said he might someday want to share his knowledge and experience as a part-time teacher.
“I’ve always had respect for teachers,” he said, “It’s the highest profession on earth.”
He said that he admires young students for continuing their education and is awe-struck by technology.
“Technology can be overwhelming later in life,” said Salkin, who is impressed by students who use iPads. “It’s sometimes difficult to adapt to new innovations.”
While his educational endeavors keep him occupied most of the time, Salkin said he also makes sure to keep his body active.
“I figured I would run a 10K today,” he said on Thanksgiving Day. “Now I’m going to go the gym to stretch and do some weight training.”
Salkin discovered his affinity for running 20 years ago when he decided that his membership in the Sierra Club wasn’t enough to get him in shape. Since then, he has run a combined 43 marathons and half marathons in locations across the nation, and he is currently training for another full marathon.
“Some people say that they don’t have time to exercise,” he said. “But there are 24 hours in a day. Everyone has that. You make time for what you love.”