‘I may not be done yet’: 80-year-old college student earns her degree after 62 years

TUPELO, Miss. (WLBT/Gray News) - An 80-year-old college student earned her undergraduate degree 62 years after she started.

Mary Griffin received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi.

In 1961, Griffin was valedictorian of the graduating class at Siggers High School.

At the time, Griffin lived in Shannon, Mississippi, but she graduated from Siggers because she went to school before desegregation in 1964.

Siggers was considered the ‘colored school’ and Shannon High School was the ‘white school.’

Even after earning her degree, Griffin said she isn’t ready to stop learning.

“Somewhere in this 80-year-old mind, a master’s to something is rumbling around. So I may not be done yet,” she told WTVA.

She wants to encourage others to follow their dreams no matter how old they are.

Although Griffin completed her degree in university studies in 2023, she had to miss her formal commencement ceremony.

She was honored this spring instead.