‘Just keep trying.’: Great-grandmother earns master’s degree at 89

(Gray News) – An 89-year-old great-grandmother in Florida celebrated the holidays by donning a graduation cap and gown after completing her latest goal.

Joan Donovan graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing, the college reported.

Donovan told the university she started first grade when she was 4 years old and graduated high school by the time she was 16.

“When I graduated from high school, I was told there was no money in the family to send me to college,” Donovan told Southern New Hampshire University.

The woman, who is passionate about learning, went back to her high school to take post-graduate classes. Then she got married and focused on building a family.

When her six children were grown, Donovan told the univeristy she decided to return to the classroom to achieve her dream of being a college student.

She graduated with an associate’s degree from a community college and completed her bachelor’s degree when she was 84.

Now that she has a master’s degree, Donovan plans to write an autobiography.

“I was afraid to try college,” she told the college. “So, I say, ‘try things.’ If you fail, try it again ... but just keep trying.”