Cursory: 52 years after dropping his Ph.D. program at the University of Pittsburgh in the US, Dr. Nick Axten, a 76-year-old man has been conferred a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) by the University of Bristol, England. The father of 2 has gone on to tell his story and reveal the difficulties leading up to his stellar achievement.
Dr. Nick Axten, a 76-year-old man, started his thesis on mathematical sociology at the University of Pittsburgh in the US in 1970. But after five years he returned to the UK with the Ph.D. unfinished.
The University of Bristol honored him with a Doctor of Philosophy in front of his wife Claire Axten and 11-year-old granddaughter Freya. He had been awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship, but said his research had been “exceptionally difficult”.
“Some problems are so great it takes the best part of a lifetime to get your head around them. They need a long hard think,” he said.”This one has taken me 50 years.”
Dr. Axten’s research is a new theory for understanding human behaviour. It is based on the values each person holds, which Dr. Axten believes has the potential to change the view of behavioural psychology.
Now a dad of two and grandfather of four, he started his undergraduate degree in Leeds in 1967.
“It was still flower power and there was a revolutionary feel. It was the time of the Vietnam War, Paris, Prague and student sit-ins,” he recalled.
“Jack Straw was president of the Students’ Union in Leeds. Sociology and psychology were suddenly boom subjects. I went to study them because I wanted to understand people.”
Dr. Axten, of Wells, Somerset, said he loved his time as a mature student at the University of Bristol between 2016 and 2022.
“All of the other philosophy graduate students were around 23 but they accepted me as one of their own,” he said.
“They are clever people full of ideas and I loved talking with them – especially at the pub in the afternoon.”
During a varied career, Dr. Axten lived all over the UK and was the creator and principal author of the school teaching programme Oxford Primary Science.
Read Also: 82-year-old Man Celebrates As He Finally Bags His PhD, Says He Still Hopes to be A Professor
ALLSCHOOL TEAM
Stories You Shouldn't Have Missed:
- There Were Distractions, But I Learnt To Manage Them – UNILAG First Class Graduate
- “Triple the joy, triple the gratitude” Man Celebrates Bagging 3 Masters Degrees
- Rude Secondary School Student breaks his Teacher’s head in Anambra State
- OAU Celebrates 48th Convocation as Ayobami Eruobami Graduates with Honors in Estate Management
- Aggrieved UDS Students Demand Dismissal of University Staff Over Two-Year Certificate Delay
- Little Boys are Spotted Charging Phone with Transformer, Video Sparks Reactions
- Meet Nigerian Girl Who Scored 8 Distinctions In WAEC, Tried ‘JAMB’ 4 Times, Ended Up Overall Best Graduate In India
Join Our 500,000+ Community:
Thank you so much for reading. We will appreciate it if you share this with your loved ones.