64-year-old Digital Photography student stays focused through health challenges

(Note: This is the first in a series of stories about STCC students graduating in May 2026.)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – When Candy Oyler walks into a classroom at Springfield Technical Community College, she brings decades of resilience and reinvention – and she carries a spirit that refuses to stop moving forward.

Now in the Digital Photography program, Oyler is on track to graduate with a certificate this spring. Her path to STCC is unlike any other – shaped by extraordinary health challenges, an impressive career in technology and business and a lifelong determination to create meaning, beauty and purpose in every chapter of her life.

Fifty years ago, Oyler was just 14 years old and living in Chicopee when she was diagnosed with bone cancer. The treatment was grueling. She underwent 18 months of chemotherapy and lost her leg. But she pushed forward, finishing high school and earning admission to Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. At the time, she imagined becoming a doctor or another type of health professional, inspired by her early medical journey, but life pulled her in a different direction.

After graduating, she entered the tech world in the early 1980s, an era when few women held sales roles in the booming computer industry. She thrived.

“It was crazy,” said Oyler, now 64. “I was one of the few women locally selling computers and software… and I built my career on that.”

That career eventually took her across the country and around the world as vice president of business development for North America. But just as she was soaring professionally, her health took another turn.

At 58, she learned that her heart and other organs were failing. Within days of being placed on the transplant list, she received a donor heart at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“It’ll be eight years this June,” said Oyler, now living in Southwick. “I did really well. And you move on.”

But even after the transplant, she wasn’t done confronting medical adversity. She later developed stomach cancer. The treatment needed for that was the most difficult experience of her life. She lost more than 80 pounds.

“It was the darkest time I ever had out of everything I’ve been through,” Oyler said.

It was her partner who planted the seed for a new beginning: “He said, ‘You’re so good at taking pictures. Why don’t you become a photographer?’”

Oyler had always loved capturing moments for friends and family. But formal training? At her age? After everything she’d endured? She wasn’t sure, until she realized nobody could walk her through learning a camera. So she did what she has done her entire life. She reinvented herself.

People say I’m reinventing myself, but I reinvent for survival. I want to be contemporary and have a purpose. Candy Oyler, Digital Photography student

Oyler enrolled at STCC in fall 2024. The switch from PCs to Macs was humbling. She had to learn a new operating system. But she embraced the challenge with enthusiasm, notebooks and humor.

“Being in class with young people was so much fun,” she said. “I liked to talk to young people to see what was going on. So, it was fun, but it was hard.”

Despite the learning curve, she excelled. Oyler made the Dean’s List, joined the Honor Society, and began producing work that earned praise from faculty. She credited STCC faculty, including Professor Philip Ruderman, with supporting and inspiring her to do her best work.

Wendy McCann, an adjunct faculty member, also provided support that Oyler called “invaluable,” helping her learn editing techniques, use new software and build confidence in the studio.

“Without that opportunity, I don’t know if I’d be the student I am,” Oyler said. “She helped me learn editing, how to use the computer – everything. I felt comfortable going to her.”

Miah Dreger, Dean of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), said STCC welcomes students from different generations and backgrounds.

“Students like Candy remind us of what makes STCC such a special place,” Dreger said. “Her determination and joy in learning show that education truly is for everyone, and that it can be a powerful source of purpose and connection at any stage of life. We’re proud to support her and all students who choose to pursue their passions with us.”

Alongside her coursework, Oyler has continued to manage ongoing cancer treatments and Mohs surgeries for the skin cancers caused by immunosuppression. But STCC gave her something to return to – something grounding, creative and forward-looking. She forged many friendships at STCC – students from different age groups and with different backgrounds.

“School gives me a reason to come back,” she says. “I don’t sit home dwelling on it. I have a schedule. I love it.”

Last year, in an advertising photography class, Oyler created a logo and brand for herself, “Victory Road Photography.

“It says a lot about me,” she reflected. “My life is reinventing and moving on.”

And the business is already taking shape. She has photographed weddings, baby showers, children’s holiday portraits and a writers’ conference where she shot 33 professional headshots. With every job, her confidence grows.

“I know how to network, how to knock on doors,” she said. “Showing up is more than half of it.”

Her next goal: building a website and continuing to refine her craft through advanced courses at STCC.

For Oyler, photography is more than a hobby or a career pivot. It is a way of reclaiming life after profound loss and illness – a medium through which she captures beauty, memory and the simple joy of being present.

“I’m doing this because of all the challenges and trying to be new and creative,” she said. “People say I’m reinventing myself, but I reinvent for survival. I want to be contemporary and have a purpose.

“I don’t know how the rest of my story is written,” Oyler said. “But for today, I’m pursuing photography. And it’s fun. Once you get past the classes, you can really dream.”Top of FormBottom of Form

Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

About Springfield Technical Community College

STCC, the Commonwealth's only technical community college, continues the pioneering legacy of the Springfield Armory with comprehensive and technical education in manufacturing, STEM, healthcare, business, social services, and the liberal arts. STCC's highly regarded workforce, certificate, degree, and transfer programs are the most affordable in Springfield and provide unequaled opportunity for the vitality of Western Massachusetts. Founded in 1967, the college – a designated Hispanic Serving Institution – seeks to close achievement gaps among students who traditionally face societal barriers. STCC supports students as they transform their lives through intellectual, cultural, and economic engagement while becoming thoughtful, committed and socially responsible graduates.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jim Danko, (413) 755-4812, jdanko@stcc.edu

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