by After taking the stage in their caps and gowns to earn their college degrees for the first time, some seasoned scholars have proven that the pursuit of dreams is not something bound by age.
So does Sam Kaplan, 72, who fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a college graduate just before his teenage grandson graduated from high school this year. “I look at myself differently now,” he tells Yahoo Life.
Kaplan, one of seven siblings, who has five children and 15 grandchildren, “always struggled to be accepted” by peers because of a stutter he could drop in his 30s, around the same time he started writing short stories as a form of escape. In May, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgia Gwinnett College in Georgia with a degree in film and media arts — while his 99-year-old mother cheered him on from the audience and went viral in the process.
Four years ago, after hearing a commercial for the college course on the radio, Kaplan says he decided “on a whim” to sign up for classes. Now, more than half a century since he graduated from high school in 1969, he embraces a new future.
“I sacrificed to get my kids to private schools that were an hour away. I would go back and forth there every day for several years to make sure they had a good education,” he says. “So, as my son told me, now it’s my turn to make my dreams come true.”
‘They see me as a caveman’
Janice Hall, an 81-year-old stroke survivor and two-time cancer survivor, earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Bethel University in Minnesota, more than 50 years after she first entered college. She tried several times over the years to complete her studies, but only recently felt she could finish it.
“I had time on my hands,” the retired human resources professional tells Yahoo Life. “I had a very good career during those years. No one ever asked me for a degree in terms of the things I did, career-wise, so I just kept working and doing what I do best, and I succeeded. But it was always in the back of my mind to finish it [college]. And now I did.”
Hall, who has three children, 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, advises future scientists with similar college dreams that “there is always hope” when things seem challenging.
“When the will is there, the way is made,” she says.
Those sentiments are echoed by Lew Griffith, a 99-year-old retired American military engineer and pilot who earned a Bronze Star for his engineering work in the 1960s. Although his engineering degree included, Griffith was never able to complete his graduations after being interrupted three times – to serve in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
That changed this year, when a recent commencement ceremony at the University of Texas at the Cockrell School of Engineering in Austin, where he studied, invited him to walk on stage to receive his diploma in his cap and gown.
“I was thrilled to see the students express their appreciation to their veterans with a standing ovation,” he tells Yahoo Life of the support he received from younger students. “It represented a bond between the old guys and new guys.”
Part of that bond is finding humor in their generational differences. “They think of me as a caveman,” he jokes.
Meanwhile, in Zanesville, Ohio, 102-year-old Nancy Power Hodous earned an associate degree in public service from Zane State College, powered by Trilogy Health Service’s “Live a Dream” program, which financially supports seniors in achieving their goals.
“It’s never too late to follow your heart,” she said in a statement through a representative of Oaks of Bethesda, a retirement home where she lives.
Hodous earned the degree through a series of online business, art, and poetry courses, including auditioning a class at Harvard University. “If it’s something you can do, go ahead and do it!” she told local news station WBNS.
Hall is going back to school in August to focus on a master’s degree in ministry, though she’s not exactly looking forward to returning to work after graduation. “At this age I certainly don’t plan on starting another career, but I’m glad I did this now,” she says. “It’s getting closer to what I promised myself.”
As for Kaplan, he says “taking risks” later in life is scary, but sometimes “it’s something you have to do.”
“I’m 72, but I think I have another 30 or so good years to go. I hope so anyway, and I certainly don’t want to sit around and do nothing,” he says. change in my life.”
Wellness, parenting, body image and more: meet the WHO behind the how with the Yahoo Life newsletter. Register here.
