From Xerox executive and U.S. Navy veteran to UofL Donovan Scholar

On Oct. 13, the United States Navy celebrates its 249th birthday. In honor of this milestone, UofL's Center for Military-Connected Students introduces us to Ed Fenton, a United States Navy veteran and a master's student in UofL's computer science and engineering program through the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.

Fenton is a U.S. Navy veteran who served onboard the United States ship John F. Kennedy (CV-67) from 1972 to 1978.

During his service onboard the Kennedy, Fenton was part of the "ships company," and was responsible for the storerooms, which served more than 5,000 sailors.

This included snacks, cigarettes and retail shops as well as the barber shops, dry cleaning, and laundry.

He spent 17 months in the Mediterranean, six months in the Caribbean, and three months in the North Atlantic. Among his favorite memories of his time in the Navy are the countless ports of calls where he was able to interact with residents. In retirement, he has been able to visit many of these same places.

Originally from Trumbull, Connecticut, Fenton, who is also a retired Xerox chief information officer, has been in Louisville since 1995.

Fenton is a Donovan Scholar at UofL, a program that offers students in Kentucky who are 65 years or older the chance to take a select number of classes for free at any state-supported institution. The program, which started in 1976, can count toward a degree or simply be for fun.

Although he has a bachelor of science in computer science and economics, the last 20 years of Fenton's career were spent as a manager and leader, and he was not actively involved in the hands-on technologies.

Taking classes at the Speed School is helping him achieve his goal of getting educated in newer technologies, he said. Getting back into education was a big change and he has found it to be both challenging and rewarding.

With the knowledge and skills Fenton is gaining in the program, he intends to build tools, games, or applications for mobile.

Fenton said that Ibrahim Imam, an associate professor in the computer science and engineering department, has always been available to help and provide suggestions throughout the program.

He and his wife have four children and eleven grandchildren.

Fenton believes it is very important to continue to learn no matter your age and he is intent on setting a good example for his grandchildren. He said UofL has given him an opportunity to learn something new almost every day.