Now here’s proof that it’s never too late to achieve your goals.
On May 20, 98-year-old Claudia Parries returned to her old stomping ground, Howard School in Chattanooga, Tennessee to receive her high school diploma that she’d waited many years to earn.
It was 1933 when Parries, then a senior, last stepped into Howard. But she was forced forced to drop out of school and help take care of her younger siblings, when mother succumbed to an illness.
After that, she got married and raised her own family of eight children and focused on helping them attain their education dreams. They all completed high school and attended college. But Parries’ personal education goals remained dear to heart, with her daughter telling Chattanooga Times Free Press that her mom would always tear up when a discussion turned to education.
After making special arrangements with school staff, Parries’ children surprised her on Tuesday and drove her down from their home in Ohio to Chattanooga where she received her honorary diploma along with a Howard School T-shirt, balloons, a cake and roses.
“This is something I expected a long time ago,” said Parries who laughed and cried tears of joy on her big day.