The story of 80-year-old Donzella Washington, from Birmingham, England is a reminder of the saying that age is just a number and you can do anything if you have the motivation to do it.
After completing her bachelor’s degree with social work as her major from Alabama A&M University, Washington walked across the convocation stage with utmost pride for making history.
She dedicated the achievement to her late husband.
“I wanted to finish in his honor,” Washington, who is the oldest graduate of her university, told Good Morning America while talking about her late husband who died back in 2011.
Surely her husband, Jeff, would have been very happy on Washington’s achievement as she graduated magna cum laude with a GPA of 3.64, securing a perfect 4.0 in the last semester.
Jeff and Washington were the foster parents of 32 children. In her youth, Washington used to work for the police and at a bank, a Birmingham press release said.
After Jeff died, Washington shifted to Alabama with her daughter and decided to restart her studies. In 2013, she joined classes at Lawson State Community College.
“Learning is just really fun,” Washington told Fox news subsidiary WZDX.
After completing an associate’s degree from the college in 2017, she enrolled at A&M University Alabama to pursue her Bachelor’s degree.
“Even though there was a lot of tears and late-night studying at 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning, I was determined,” Washington said in the press release by the city of Birmingham.
“I never felt like quitting.”
Washington’s daughter Kimberly appreciated her mother’s steadfastness by telling WZDX that she is the best example of “commitment and strength and perseverance and dedication and compassion and passion.”
“It’s never too late,” Washington told WZDX. “You have a dream, please finish that dream. You can do it. You just have to believe in yourself.”
Talking about her plans for the future, Washington said she is going to complete her master’s degree and will voluntarily work with Nursing homes.
She told GMA: “I want to inspire and motivate others that age is not a barrier. And I want to emphasize the life between the dash.”
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