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A woman, Mae Beale, 82, a long-time licensed nurse, returned to college in her late 70s to pursue a degree in business management from the University of Maryland, Washington to help her event planning business. Beale also celebrated her 82nd birthday on May 17 and the very next day she got her degree 👩‍🎓.
This beautiful and motivating story was published on TimesNow News, click here to read.
Mae lives in Washington DC and has been a well-known civic and community activist in Maryland for the last five decades and received a dozen awards for her contribution to the social issues pertaining to Howard County. In March 2016, she was inducted into the 2016 Howard County Women’s Hall of Fame for her numerous contributions to the community including the implementation of programs and projects that amplify the voices of black women.
Then, later that year, Mae received The Associated Black Charities’ 2016 Women on the Move Award as a recognition for the difference she brought to the community.
The Sun reported that she was also a volunteer in Howard County for former President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign. However, by profession, she had been a practical nurse for dozens of years by the time she returned to school. While Mae was working with the Department of Health and Human Services, she decided she would venture into the business of event planning and established her own business, In Grand Style, in 1994.
“I’m feeling excited, happy, energised…all the positive things you can say when you have accomplished a mission,” she told a local television station.
When asked about her plans for the future, Mae said, “the sky’s the limit” while holding her diploma in her hand.
“You don’t ever, ever let people deter you, because people always want to tell you what to do, how to do, when to do,” she said. “But you have to do you.”
Mae has proven that age is no bar to learning. There are other similar stories from all over the world, read more below:
A 67-year-old woman from Gujarat’s Vadodara earns Ph.D., and fulfills her dream, read here.
An 87-year-old grandmother from Sri Lanka has become the oldest person to earn a master’s degree at this university in Canada, read here.
There are more, we just need to acknowledge them and learn to not give up on dreams!
