#OMG: Abuelita graduates 71 years later; started college in 1951

"I have learned that I can do things I never thought I would be able to do, with the help of others. You can never stop learning," were the words of Joyce DeFauw, a 90-year-old U.S. native who managed to graduate after 71 years. In 1951, just as she was beginning her college life as a home economics major, she fell in love. She met Don Freeman and it was love at first sight, so three and a half years after she started, she decided to abandon her studies. According to the American news network 'CNN', which interviewed the woman, she lived a full relationship with Freeman, with whom she had three children, but he died prematurely. That is how she met the man who would end up being the man of her life, Roy DeFauw. This relationship added six members to Joyce's brood, who is now nine decades old, with 17 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. How did she complete her studies? One of her granddaughters, Jenna, pushed her to go back to college and finish her studies and they decided to enroll her at Northern Illinois University. One of the most difficult aspects of going back to school for Joyce was technology: "It was my first computer, my kids had to teach me how to use it." From that moment on, in 2019, the grandmother proved that with age does not go the desire to learn, since she managed to complete her degree, despite the afflictions of age and the fact that she is in a wheelchair, also due to her years. In the photographs published by his alma mater, he can be seen with a smile from ear to ear, since after 71 years he received his diploma and achieved what many do not dare to do, to show that dreams do not have an expiration date. This case is very reminiscent of that of ColombianNoralba Garzón Correa, who was unable to pursue a university degree in her youth but proved that it is never too late to achieve your dreams. In May, at the age of 77, she received her degree in Social Sciences with an emphasis on elementary school from the University of Quindío.

2022-12-16T20:00:14+00:00
Duration: 02:03