I took banking courses, and then I took medical courses, and then I worked for the state and you couldn’t advance if you didn’t have degrees. And secretaries at that time took on a lot of responsibility, but they could never go further than the secretarial slot because they didn’t have the degree. So I went back to school and I was on the twenty-year plan. You know, I would work during the day and by that time they had – a lot of the colleges were offering night classes. So I went to Quinsig [Quinsigamond Community College] for a couple of years and then I transferred to Northern Essex Community College where I got a degree in medical record technology. So then I could be the boss of a medical record department in the state system, with an associate degree and accreditation as a medical records person. So then from there I went to Worcester State College and I got a degree in Health Science, but I was retired when I got my degree [laughs].
Rose Anne Ferrandino was born in 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was the oldest of four children and grew up in a predominantly Irish neighborhood. Her parents sent she and her sister to Ascension High School, an all-girls' Catholic school in Worcester. She went on to take classes at Quinsigamond Community College, Northern Essex Community College, and Worcester State College. She married and had two children. Her husband died of lung cancer in 1996. She also has a grandson. Rose Anne live sin Rutland and is very involved in the greater Worcester Community; she is a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Friends of the Rutland Library, treasurer of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, and Curriculum Chair of the Worcester Institute for Senior Education. In thi sinterview, she discusses the struggles women had to overcome and also her involvment with her children's lives and how she had to find her own way after her children moved out.