“There are tons of Charles Nams in the world,” the accomplished Tallahassee retiree smiles, “but there’s only one Charles B. Nam.”
Raised by immigrant parents in a small village on Long Island, Charles B. Nam survived the Great Depression and graduated high school by the age of 17. His parents had only finished eighth grade, but he had a passion for reading and learning that continues.
Only 17, he wanted to enlist during World War II and was required to take a test. Not only did Charles pass easily, but he also found himself in the engineering program at Harvard University for special training. The next few years would include artillery training at Fort Bragg, a climb up the ranks as a member of the survey team (thanks to his top-level math skills), and eventually fighting in Germany until V-E Day.
After returning home, Charles completed his bachelor’s in Applied Statistics at New York University, followed by his master’s and Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of North Carolina. After some time working with the U.S. Census Bureau in the nation’s capital, he made a 31-year career at Florida State University. Asked how he accomplished so much by the age of 60, Charles observes, “People are capable of doing more than they think.”
Dr. Charles B. Nam proved the accuracy of this belief, with a set of spectacular accomplishments post-60. He went on to write seven more books and author a novel at the age of 80. This all coincided with engaging active adults to continue their learning in a course he instructed on policy change at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. As an active member of Westminster Oaks and maintainer of four websites, he has not let age define him in the slightest.
For fun he plays table tennis and has competed and won gold in the Capital City Senior Games. Charles works daily to improve his body and mind, living by the motto: “Enough with the can’t, just try it.” Dr. Charles B. Nam is truly one a kind.
