Horace Sheffield has seen and done a lot in his 88 years, and he just celebrated his proudest moment. The Georgia grandfather fulfilled his lifelong goal of receiving his college degree!
The long-awaited moment was more than 50 years in the making. Sheffield first enrolled at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia, in 1960 but dropped out five years later after the birth of his two daughters.
“I dropped out with 115 hours,” he told ABC News. “At that time, a piece of paper on a wall didn’t mean that much to me. I had my education and my brain and my heart, and I put them all to good use. But 60 years later, I wanted that degree.”
The determined man hired a tutor and returned to Shorter University, where he took online courses to complete his bachelor’s degree in Christian studies.
“I’m retired and living on fixed income, and I did not think I could go to college and pay tuition,” Sheffield said. “But when I saw this article that senior citizens could go to college for free, Shorter accepted me at no tuition. I paid a $200 graduation fee, and that’s all I paid. I walked with a walker.”
Sheffield said it was a proud moment for him and his tutor, Amanda Brannock, who helped him take the final steps — in and out of the classroom.
“She wrote out my assignments and told me what to do and she expected me to do it,” he said of Brannock, who helped him walk across the stage as he was awarded his diploma. “She expected me to make straight As, and I did it. I wrote two papers a week and then had the test. I wrote it in longhand and she typed it all up and put it into the computer. Without her I would not have this diploma today.”
His friends and family are beaming with pride over his success.
“This is a huge accomplishment for him. And something he wanted so bad. And for him to do it with all his family there was amazing,” Sheffield’s granddaughter, Jill Brazier, told the ABC News. “He walked across the stage and the crowd went crazy. It was in their gymnasium and as soon as they called his name everybody erupted and people were screaming and hollering. We were all in tears because we knew this was what he wanted.”
