After reading an article on U.S. Census Bureau statistics in 1961, Ruth Johnson Colvin was shocked to learn that 11,000 people in her hometown of Syracuse could not read. Although Colvin said she knew other places in the world had this issue, she was astounded by the prevalence of illiteracy in Syracuse.

She started by visiting a class in the area that helped adults learn English. An avid reader herself, Colvin decided to take matters into her own hands. She set up an office in her basement, sought out volunteers and worked with local organizations to create Literacy Volunteers of America, designed to help adults learn how to read.

March is National Reading Month — a month dedicated to literacy, just as Colvin is. Colvin, now 101 years old, graduated from Syracuse University in 1959 and has since influenced literacy worldwide while remaining young as ever at heart.

In 2002, LVA merged with Laubach Literacy International to form ProLiteracy Worldwide. At first, Colvin thought making a change in Syracuse was going to be the end goal for her organization. Today, ProLiteracy has more than 1,000 volunteers in the United States and a presence in about 30 countries.

There are about 36 million people in the U.S. who have reading levels below that of a third-grader, said Michele Bellso, director of marketing at ProLiteracy Worldwide. But literacy isn’t as black and white as learning to read and write, she added. ProLiteracy serves individuals who are learning English as a second language, who need workforce training and who have reached high-school fluency levels, in addition to those who can’t read at all.

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People generally think if you can’t read, you must be unintelligent, Colvin said. But when she heard the stories of illiterate people and how they survived, she realized they were “extra smart.” They had figured out ways of getting by without being able to read things most people take for granted, such as street signs and bottle labels.

“And it’s only because (illiterate people) didn’t have the opportunities I had or others had, not because of something they did,” Colvin said. “People are very important to me … It’s not things, it’s people.”

Since graduating from SU, Colvin has been recognized with an honorary Ph.D. from the university. In September 2017, she attended and spoke at the ProLiteracy Conference on Adult Literacy, which took place in Minneapolis, Bellso said. After Colvin’s speech, a woman hobbled up to her and said, “I think you’re amazing. I’d like to do what you do, but I think I’m too old.”

When Colvin asked the woman how old she was, she replied that she was 80 years old. Colvin responded by saying she was 100, so if Colvin could do it, so could the other woman. She said she saw the woman stand up a little higher and walk away a little more proud.

“Her number one quality is passion,” Bellso said of Colvin. “Her passion for people and literacy and lifetime learning is amazing and inspiring.”

Colvin said this passion for giving back to the community stemmed from her childhood. As the oldest of five siblings, she was relied on to help out at home, especially since her father died at just 38.

On Sunday afternoons, Colvin’s responsibility was to keep her younger siblings busy, and she said coloring books only did so much to keep them preoccupied. One day, she took out a model globe and “with all the authority of a teenager” told her siblings to close their eyes, spin the globe and point. The kids were then tasked to learn more about the country where their finger landed.

Although Colvin doesn’t remember where her younger siblings “traveled,” she knows she landed on Hyderabad, India. Forty years later, Colvin would be in Hyderabad giving literacy training.

George W. Bush awarded Colvin with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006.
Courtesy of ProLiteracy Worldwide

To this day, Colvin has traveled to 62 countries and worked in 26 developing countries. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in 2006 and is included in the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Out of the nine people awarded the Medal of Freedom along with Colvin, she was the only woman.

“I’ve gone through a man’s world, and we still have a long way to go, but we’ve come a long way,” Colvin said. “We women are strong, and around the world, women are now realizing — and men are realizing with us, which I appreciate — the equality.”

Bellso said Colvin has taught her the importance of lifelong learning. You’re never too old to learn something new, she said. Everyone you meet has something new to share, and you can take something from them that adds value to your own life.

Colvin continues to makes an impact on younger generations. This May, when she speaks at Le Moyne College’s graduation ceremony, she will become the oldest commencement speaker at any institution in the U.S., said Joe Della Posta, Le Moyne’s director of communications and public affairs. Colvin’s record of helping those in need, in addition to her literary efforts, mirrored the Jesuit academic institution’s mission of serving others, he said.

“The students are going to be very honored to have her there and get her message that they can do whatever they set their mind to, just like she did,” Della Posta said.

Colvin still advocates for literacy. She continues to tutor adults with ProLiteracy Worldwide, and in her free time, she enjoys being at her daughter’s home in Sea Ranch, California; going to the gym twice a week; and playing golf. She appreciates the sunshine.

“Age is just a number,” Colvin said. “It’s what you do with that number that matters.”

Published on March 26, 2018 at 9:33 pm

Contact Sandhya: ssiyer@syr.edu