Press Releases

May 17, 2002
At 48, Robert Mehling Goes Back to College and Realizes a Dream

Riverhead Resident Gets 4.0 and Hamptons Gallery Exhibit; Graduates Sunday

Contact:
Darren Johnson (PR@southampton.liu.edu)
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

Southampton, NY - The dream kept nagging at Riverhead resident Robert Mehling. Entering his 40s and working jobs he hated " managing retail shops including a shoe store " he started regretting that day in 1973 when he dropped out of college to pursue a rock 'n' roll career.

But the dream didn?t die. With his 40th birthday in 1994 Mehling resolved to change everything and follow that dream: to be an oil painter. With a new resolve and unwavering focus, Mehling went back to Suffolk Community College and then transferred to Southampton College, where he maintained a 4.0 average and will receive his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree this Sunday at 2 p.m.

"Once I resolved to go back to college, I wasn?t the same person anymore. I was focused, because this dream means everything to me," Mehling said, realizing that college at age 40 is a lot easier than at 18. "Then, suddenly, I realized I loved the academic world."

When Mehling's rock band broke up, he spent two decades working at small stores and outlet malls but wanted more. He painted on weekends, but it wasn't enough. "It's impossible to realize the dream by being a part-time artist. It gets relegated as a hobby and you're known as a weekend warrior.

"I hated the jobs I was working and it finally got to me that I could be doing something better." Working with esteemed artists at Southampton College, including professors Neill Slaughter and Robert Armetta, Mehling earned a new appreciation for formal learning. "When I first entered college, I had thought I knew everything, but that wasn't true at all," Mehling said. "These professors really taught me a lot."

Now he has a new confidence. He recently exhibited at Southampton College's Avram Gallery and Elaine Benson Gallery. His 4.0 earned him campus awards: he was named the top Arts and Media student and the top part-time student at a May 2 ceremony. He plans on exhibiting more, including in New York City, and pursuing graduate study.

"I had always held this dream in the back of my mind. I'd say to myself, "I have to be an artist," "Mehling said, "and I've realized you can actualize your dream if you make a plan and focus on it."