“Now my family says my mind is right, it’s normal,” she said. “That’s why I decided to go to school; to prove to them that I was fine. I think I have. They were really interested in how I was coming along.”
McClendon said she plans to enroll at Clark State again in 2022, hoping that the threat of the coronavirus has passed. This time she’ll study American Sign Language.
“I have enjoyed my classes at Clark State so much,” she said. “My instructor Jennifer Savitscus is my VIP, my inspiration; they usually give five stars for that. I give her 10-plus stars for her patience, support and encouragement with me: her almost centenarian student. If there was a Spanish 3, I’d take that, too.”
Savitscus said McClendon is an inspiration to her and she considers herself blessed to have known her.
“Novolla is an incredible role model to all for being a life-long learner, with a true passion for knowledge,” she said. “Additionally, she is a wealth of both community and historical knowledge.”
McClendon said she also appreciates her classmates for being so patient and calm.
“I love them all as if they were my own children,” she says. “All of the staff in the different departments and the bookstore were so patient, pleasant, helpful and encouraging to me when I asked for help.”
McClendon graduated from then Clark Technical College in 1974 with an associate degree in Registered Nursing (RN) and later went to Meharry Medical College and became a pediatric nurse practitioner, the release said.
Before college, she went to Springfield High School and got married before her senior year. She then completed her GED and became a practical nurse (LPN), then went to work at Community Hospital in Springfield after graduation.
During her career, McClendon also worked at the Dayton VA hospital, Grandview Hospital, Doctor’s Hospital in Columbus and at The Ohio State University Medical Center.
She is the mother of 10 children, grandmother to 40 and both great and great-great-grandmother to more than 100.
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