81-Year-Old Alabama Woman Earns College Degree

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Donzella Washington accomplished many things and held several roles throughout her 81 years of life. She’s a wife. She’s also a mother and a foster parent.

On Saturday, she will add another accomplishment to her decades-long resume: College graduate.

Washington, who grew up in California but now lives in Fultondale, will become the oldest graduate of Alabama A&M during this weekend’s Magic City Classic, according to Birmingham FOX-affiliate WBRC.

Washington will receive her Bachelor’s degree after 8 years in the college classroom, Washington told the news station.

“I started off with just one class a semester and then when I saw I was doing well in one class, I upped it to two classes,” she told WBRC.

Washington told the news station she hopes her accomplishment will inspire others her age. She credited her late husband, Jass Washington, to always encouraging her to pursue her dreams.

Washington is among college students over 40 years old who comprise a small percentage of college students in the United States. In fact, only 7 percent of enrolled undergraduates are 40 years of age or older, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.