For the past 20 years, students in Tucson have had a resource to help them choose the right college.

Monday through Friday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Buddy Goldman takes his position behind his desk, cluttered with material from various colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Goldman spends two hours a day on the second floor of Foley's at the El Con Mall giving advice to students. His service is the only one of its kind in the United States, Goldman said.

Goldman gives advice ranging from which school to attend to financial aid resources free of charge. Although he is 84 years old and has had a number of health problems, Goldman says retirement is out of the question.

"My doctors kept telling me to retire, which I will never do," Goldman said.

Goldman keeps on working, sharing the wisdom he has gained over the years to a younger population because he sees education as a never ending, priceless commodity.

"I have the philosophy that education is not a destination," Goldman said. "It's an adventure that keeps on going."

Goldman's work is not confined to his daily two-hour sessions at the mall. He also runs college workshops at various institutions throughout Tucson, including public libraries and high schools.

Students who have an idea of what they want to do as a career are usually advised to experience the educational adventure away from home, he said.

"I encourage students to go to school out of state," Goldman said. "It helps them to make friends from all over the country."

Goldman has several criteria he believes students should go by when determining which college to attend.

"Number one, geographically - Where would you like to go to school in the United States? Secondly, what's important is the student-to-teacher ratio. Another rule of thumb is how many volumes in the library. Another thing to consider is the quality of life on the campus," Goldman said.

He said that the reputation of the school as a whole is not as important in the decision making process as how strong the department is at a particular school.

"Departments at the UA such as anthropology, engineering and optical sciences are almost unbeatable by any school in the nation," Goldman said.

Goldman is also committed to giving advice on which forms of financial aid to pursue and to letting students know that it exists.

"As far as financial aid is concerned, (it is) out there," Goldman said. "This is a very important investment in (a student's) future."

On a personal level, Goldman, who earned a bachelor's degree from Notre Dame in 1936 and a master's in education from the UA in 1967, worked as a journalist for 30 years. The first story he covered while working at the Hearst Newspapers in New York was the 1937 Hindenberg explosion in New Jersey, which claimed 36 lives.

Goldman spent four years in the military during World War II as a medic before continuing his career in journalism in Newark, N.J., Ohio, Barbados and Dallas. His career in journalism came to an end when he and his wife moved to Tucson from Dallas in 1959 for health reasons.

But health did not keep Goldman from moving on with life. He taught in the English Department at the UA while earning his master's degree.

Goldman said he has not grown tired of helping others expand their educational horizons.

"I'm trying to make education an epidemic, encouraging as many people as possible."

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