Congrats are in order for Bessie Person!!
She recently earned her degree at the age of 82 proving that you’re never old to make anything happen for yourself. Person graduated from I.C. Norcom High School and moved around the country. She attended a few universities but was unable to complete them because her tuition assistance stopped.
She says:
“When I started this, I didn’t know how far I was going to go, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I didn’t complete any of those courses at Teikyo. I also had some courses at (a school in) Cambridge, Mass. I tried to get a degree at every school I was at.”
According to PilotOnline.com:
Person retired at age 57 from Bristol-Myers Squibb as a data entry supervisor and moved back to Virginia in the 1990s. During that time she lived in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Newport News. She then moved to Missouri for 11 years to work as a call center representative.
When she was in her seventies, Person was talking to her sister about getting a degree. She said her sister told her to just do it. She went online and found Colorado Technical University. She enrolled in an associate’s degree in business administration. She worked on a bachelor’s degree in business administration and digital marketing after she gained her associate degree in 2½ years. Person studied the courses online from her home.
A few years later, she graduated with honors with a 3.7 GPA. Person studied for 4 to 6 hours every day, six days a week. “I’m still a bit surprised I was able to finish it. I did it all on my own.”
Her goal is to teach people how to write resumes and network. She also plans on doing consulting work.
Person’s son Kermitt Smith is so proud!
“I’m really amazed,” he said. “I told her when she told me she finally graduated, ‘you have done something none of your four children accomplished.’ I have been to college, military, and trade school but don’t have a four-year academic degree.”