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The student arrived early, sat front and center, and stood out in my classroom in more ways than one.
这个学生来的很早，坐在前排中间，他在我的教室里以不止一种方式脱颖而出。
I'd say that he had about 40 years on his classmates in my undergraduate communications class at California State University, Los Angeles.
在我洛杉矶加州州立大学的通信本科课程上，他比他的同学年长40岁。
He eagerly jumped into class discussions, with his self-deprecating humor and wisdom of experience.
他会急切地加入课程讨论，带着他的自嘲式幽默和智慧的经验。
And he was always respectful of the other students' perspectives, as if each of them were a teacher.
他总是尊重其他同学的观点，把他们每个人都当做老师。
Jerry Valencia walked in with a smile—and he left with one too.
杰里·巴伦西亚带着微笑走进教室，也微笑着走出教室。
"These students gave me the confidence that I didn't need to feel bad about my age," Valencia says.
巴伦西亚表示，“这些学生给了我信心，让我不会为自己的年龄感到悲哀。
One day, I spotted Valencia on campus. He said he would have to stop taking classes that semester and reapply for next year.
一天，我在学校里看到了巴伦西亚。他说这学期自己无法继续上课了，会在下年继续申请。
By then, he hoped to have earned enough money from construction jobs and have his student-loan papers in order.
到那时候，他希望靠建筑工作挣足够的钱，而且整理好自己的学生贷款文件。
But he said he was still coming to campus to attend events or see friends.
但是他说，他还会来学校参加活动或者看望朋友。
He asked demurely whether he could still sit in on my communications class.
他认真地问我，他能否仍然听我的通信课程。
Sure, I said. But he wouldn't get any credit. No problem, he said.
我说当然。但是他不会得到任何学分。没问题，他回答道。
Soon there he was again, back at his old desk, front and center, jumping into our discussions on how to find and tell stories in Los Angeles—
很快他又来了，坐在前排中间，之前的桌子边上。加入如何在洛杉矶发现和讲述故事，
a 63-year-old Cal State LA junior with as much energy and curiosity as any of the youngsters in class.
这位63岁的加州州立大学的大三学生，他的能量和好奇心和班上年轻学生不相上下。
For an assignment on changing neighborhoods, Valencia wrote about a favorite local chain restaurant that was "unceremoniously closed."
在一个关于社区变迁的作业中，巴伦西亚写到了他最爱的当地连锁餐厅的突然关门。
He called it an "earth-shattering" development and a theft of childhood.
他称这是一个“惊天动地”的变化，偷走了孩子的童年。
"It is almost as if someone has stolen that childhood and replaced it with a slippery hill where everything they cherish will slide away," he wrote.
他写道：“这就像是某人把童年偷走了，把它换成了一个湿滑的山坡，在那里，他们所有珍爱的东西都会溜走。”
A lot of Valencia's classmates apparently knew he couldn't afford that semester's tuition but was still doing the homework.
巴伦西亚的很多同学显然知道他负担不起那学期的学费，但仍在完成作业。
"Here he is, willingly taking a class for the joy of it and benefit of learning," says Jessica Espinosa, a 25-year-old junior.
25岁的大三学生杰西卡·埃斯皮诺萨说：“他就在这里，心甘情愿地为了学习的乐趣和益处去上课。”
"You don't see that in our generation." Valencia showed up and took the final exam too.
“你在我们这一代中看不到这种人。”巴伦西亚还来参加了期末考试。
Afterward, students were kibitzing, and I overheard Valencia say he wanted to stay in school until he earned a master's degree,
后来，学生们都在议论纷纷，我无意中听到巴伦西亚说，他想留在学校，直到拿到硕士学位，
but it had taken him 12 years to finish community college, so he had a long way to go.
但是他花了12年的时间才完成社区大学的学业，所以他还有很长的路要走。
Twelve years? He was in and out of school, he said, subject to his work schedule and whether he had money for classes.
十二年？他说，这些年他在学校里进进出出，这取决于他的工作安排和是否有钱上课。
He had earned his associate of arts degree over the summer, then transferred to Cal State LA to start on his bachelor's. I needed to hear more.
他在今年夏天获得了副学士学位，然后转到加州州立大学洛杉矶分校开始攻读学士学位。我需要学更多东西。
