Salvatore Durso has done it all: He’s pursued music and acting, taken part in the circus as a trapeze artist, performed as a professional clown, and acted as a stunt man in Hollywood. Although Durso, who also goes by his stage name Drew Savage, was pursuing his passions quite successfully, education had taken a back seat. The nature of his career(s) involved a great deal of traveling, so Durso found himself working towards his associate's degree one semester at a time.

He began in 1994, when he enrolled at GCC (which was then located at the Long Wharf Campus). Once life slowed down, Durso finally set out to accomplish his goal of earning his associate's degree in general studies. He discovered in September 2016 that he had already earned more than enough credits to fulfill his degree and this May, at the age of 85, he "finally accomplished this goal after stopping and starting so many times."

When Durso sets his mind to something, he delivers nothing short of excellence, making the Dean’s List and becoming a member of the Psi Chi National Honor Society in psychology.

“My time at Gateway was nothing less than wonderful; from the professors, to the students, and the curriculum. I’m glad I finally achieved what I set out to do. Now who knows where I’ll go next, I have a lot of different ideas,” Durso said.