By day, Paul Kopacz was driving a brown truck, wearing a brown uniform, and — safely, quickly and efficiently — delivering dozens of mostly brown packages.
By night? Well, by night, he was expanding his gray matter, adding red and yellow and orange and magenta, in ways he never thought possible.
“It’s like,” he said, “setting your brain on fire.”
That’s the best way Kopacz, 46, could describe what happened when he left his demanding, nine- or 10-hour workday as a UPS driver behind and focused on how Robert E. Lee helped the South lose the Civil War, how some of the world’s greatest writings focused on the plight of the common man, or how to conjugate a verb in Spanish.
For 10 years, Kopacz, a Churchville resident who had driven for UPS for two decades, spent his nights pursuing an undergraduate degree in history from Temple University’s College of Liberal Arts, taking all of his courses at the Ambler campus.
In May 2004, Kopacz, who took one or two courses each semester, celebrated the culmination of his efforts when he received his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude. On that day, he left behind his brown uniform and took the stage in a black cap and gown and a white hood and tassel to accept his diploma, the proud owner of a degree — and a near-perfect 3.98 grade point average — that took him four tries to complete.
Kopacz said he lacked focus in his earlier attempts to earn a college degree. But something changed after he became a father and his children, Krystle and Eric, began attending school.
“Before, I wasn’t really motivated in school to impress my parents or my peers,” said Kopacz, a 1975 graduate of Council Rock High School, which his wife, Lynn, also attended. “I went back in 1995. It’s because I had kids. My daughter was in fifth grade and my son was in third grade. I wanted to be a role model to them. I thought I’d give it one more shot.”
Kopacz, who had driven the Langhorne route for UPS for nine years, was aided by his company’s tuition reimbursement program, which paid for his pursuit of his degree.
“UPS has been nothing but enthusiastic about this,” he said. “At work, most of the drivers would say, ‘Wow. I can’t believe you’re going to school.’ They’re some of the most down-to-earth, hard-working people you’ll ever meet and I’m proud to be one of them.”
Still, Kopacz wanted to explore the world of academia and expand his mind, whether that meant struggling through an Intellectual Heritage (IH) class — “I was really proud I passed that class,” he said — or learning how to write compelling research papers. He did so with the intention of giving it his best effort. That comes, he said, from his work ethic at UPS and his desire to demonstrate to his children that education is important.
“If I went in and did it half-way and got ‘C’s, how can I ask my daughter to get ‘A’s?” he said. “At UPS, they demand production and precision. You have to be on top of everything. If I was going to do this, I was going to give 100 percent to it.”
A pre-med major years ago, Kopacz, decided to pursue a history degree because he always had an interest in the subject. But, he said, he probably learned just as much in the University’s core requirements as he did in his major.
“I’ve used the Spanish I learned on my route,” he said. “And my first IH class changed my whole outlook on history.”
His undergraduate degree complete, Kopacz was seriously considering attending graduate school at Temple. During the year of his graduation, he received a President’s Scholar Award during special ceremonies held at Temple University Ambler and was also presented with the Norman J. Kaner Award, given to an Ambler student with the highest history GPA, by Ambler campus History coordinator (now Dean) Dr. James Hilty.
Even if he doesn’t work in history, Kopacz said, his path to his bachelor’s degree has absolutely been worth it.
“I kept all of my books. I wouldn’t sell any of them. While I was taking classes, I spent quality time with my kids. I worked on my house,” he said. “I accomplished the things I needed to accomplish but this helps fulfill me. In a lot of ways, it keeps you young. I’ve learned about life in my classes.”
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