27 May,2014 09:46 AM IST | | Agencies
A 99-year-old Maine woman graduated from college, 75 years after a $5 (Rs 300) transcript fee kept her from getting her diploma on time
New Hampshire, US: A 99-year-old Maine woman graduated from college, 75 years after a $5 (Rs 300) transcript fee kept her from getting her diploma on time.
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Beal College in Bangor awarded Jessie White her degree during a special ceremony on Friday hosted by Alan Stehle, the college's president. White was supposed to graduate in 1939, but couldn't afford the transcript fee.
A Maine native, she received her degree in stenography and bookkeeping. A friend who recently learned of her decades-old predicament called Stehle, who paid her balance and set up the ceremony.
White suffered a disability from a polio infection, but she persisted until she landed a job and worked for years as a bookkeeper. White said finally getting her degree made her feel âgreat'. "Never give up learning. They say when you give up learning you grow old," she said. "So I don't intend to give up learning."
