Emma Watson is not the only one celebrating receiving a college degree this weekend. A 99-year-old New Hampshire woman received her college degree on Friday, May 23, 75 years after a $5 fee she couldn't afford kept her from receiving it on time.
Jessie White was supposed to graduate from Beal College in 1939, but there was a $5 transcript fee she wasn't able to pay.
Beal College president Alan Stehle, hosted a special ceremony, during which White finally received her diploma. White said to ABC News
that the ceremony was just “wonderful” and she had fun, and that receiving her degree made her feel “great.”
A report by the Associated Press says it started with White's old friend, who, upon learning of what had happened, contacted Stehle, paid the fee, and arranged the ceremony.
Originally from Maine, which is where the college is located, White received her degree in stenography and bookkeeping. She suffered a disability from a polio infection, but persevered until she found a bookkeeping job, which she kept for years.
According to ABC News, White's message to everybody is, “Never give up learning. They say when you give up learning you grow old. So I don't intend to give up learning.”