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Edited on Sat Feb-17-07 01:24 PM by NewWaveChick1981
...so you don't have to give me one. :P I've already got a few... :rofl:
But I'll tell you a heartwarming story anyway. When I was the financial aid director at a small private liberal arts college for women, we had an elderly African-American woman who was there working on her bachelor's degree. She was 82 years old when I first met her and she received financial aid from us. She came by to see me one day, and we started talking about education. Turns out, she dropped out of school when she was 16 and got married. She had ten children by the time she was 30. She intended to finish high school when she could, but in those days, there wasn't any such thing as a GED or high school equivalency. Her husband died suddenly when she was 35 and she had to support those kids by herself. She found work as a seamstress and barely got by on her meager wages. She always made sure her kids had clean clothes, food to eat, a roof over their heads, and an education. Her children knew how hard she worked and promised her that one day they'd help her when they were older. She made sure that every single one of her kids went to college. She had six sons and four daughters, and every single one of them became a professional---two doctors, one lawyer, three scientists, two educators, and two professors. Her kids made sure she was well taken care of, but she always felt inadequate because she didn't have a high school diploma. When she was 79, she decided to get her GED. She passed with flying colors, and then she decided she was ready for college. She started college at our school when she was 81, and she had a straight 4.0 average the entire time. She was actively involved in student government, and everyone was in awe of her. The 18-year-olds could not keep up with her! :D She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biology when she was 85, and I think half of the audience at that commencement ceremony was related to her! :) All of her children and their spouses were there, and so were her granchildren, great-grandchildren, and even one great-great-grandchild.
Education was that important to her, and although she had deferred her education until late in life, it was a personal goal that I was proud to have watched her achieve. :bounce: :D It's stuff like that that keeps me in this profession. :D
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