Woman Finishes College Degree After 19 Years

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Bob Elbert via Iowa State University

Sometimes four years in college just isn’t enough.

How about 19? That’s how long Kathy Vitzthum has spent completing her college degree from Iowa State University.

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Since 1992, she has been taking one class per semester, all while juggling a career and raising a family. And now the 48-year-old will graduate summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting next week, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying father shortly after she started college.

“He said to me, ‘You know Kathy, you’re this far, why don’t you just keep going and get your degree?’” Vitzthum recalled, according to Iowa State University News Service.

She lamented to him that she could be 50 years old when she finishes. Her dad said, “You’re going to be 50 anyway, so you might as well keep going.”

“I didn’t really want to continue. But before he passed away, he made me promise to finish,” she said.

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Finally, she’ll get to wear the coveted cap and gown. And hey, she even gets to serve as marshal of her own commencement ceremony.

Impressed? NewsFeed sure is. Read more about Kathy’s story here.

(via Iowa State University News Service)