Kay Castagnoli makes history as a graduate of the Class of 2023

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academics 1:51 Kay Castagnoli makes history as a graduate of the Class of 2023

By:

Lee Friesland

13 May 2023 930

At 85 years old, Kay Castagnoli becomes the oldest person to receive a bachelor's degree at Virginia Tech. Castagnoli exited Lane Stadium on May 13, 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in music, summa cum laude and with honors. Kay shares her thoughts on her love of learning, and how she played one of the toughest piano concertos ever composed for her final recital; Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3

I've always loved learning. Always when I was a child. When I went to school, first grade, second grade, I loved going to school. I just loved it. It was just me. It's a shock. I just started going to school at Tech because I wanted to also do music. And so I got in finally and I got into the music department. And one thing led to another, then someone contacted me from the honors program. I'm excited about getting a degree but, then I've had to decide what am I going to do after it. I'm not a student because I've been hanging around doing student stuff for a long time. I took music when I was a child. Alright. And I took till I was about seven, I think. My mother loved music, so she was the one that thought I should take music lessons. "Rachmaninoff, alright." I love that concerto. So one day I thought, well, could I ever play it ? So I did perform the first movement. I did perform the second. Well the third, oh, it was massive, but I did get through the end of it. I got all the way through the end so. "Kay Castagnoli" I'm the oldest student to graduate from Virginia Tech at 85 years old. Having the privilege of being able to take all these classes has meant a huge amount to me And it keeps expanding. You know, it keeps Offering more. Just everybody enjoy going to school. Enjoy it. Make the most of it you can.