According to university officials, a 90-year-old woman completed her master’s degree and achieved a historic milestone by being the oldest student to finish courses at the University of North Texas.
According to the university, South Carolina native Minnie Payne completed her online degree program in interdisciplinary studies in July.
In a press statement, Billy Roessler, assistant dean of graduate studies at UNT’s Toulouse Graduate School, stated, “We use the term ‘lifelong learner,’ but Minnie truly exhibits this.” Payne received academic advice from Roessler.
It’s amazing how determined she was to finish her degree at ninety years old. He stated, “She had a reason for finishing this degree.
The nonagenarian and mother of two was escorted by her grandson, Payne Billings, as she walked the stage during her commencement ceremony on December 17 in Denton, Texas.
In the press announcement, Payne stated, “I took it day by day.”
Payne majored on writing during her studies, and she has since worked for periodicals in Dallas, Houston, and other areas of Texas as a staff writer and freelance writer.
Most authors write because they find it enjoyable. I love doing it, Payne remarked. “It helps me, which is why I do it. I engage in it because it provides me with a worthwhile endeavor.
She received her bachelor’s degree in general studies from Texas Woman’s University in 2006, which she used to pursue her master’s degree.
Despite having completed two postgraduate degrees, Payne, who is 90 years old, maintains she is not finished with schooling.
I want to keep learning in some capacity,” she remarked.
early instruction and beyond
The institution claims that Payne was raised in a “impoverished South Carolina textile-mill community.” After completing her high school education in 1950, she briefly attended a junior college before beginning a career as a clerk for a real estate company, according to the university.
According to the announcement, she married her late husband Dale in 1961 and worked as a court reporter for the South Carolina Industrial Commission until her children were born.
She went back to work as a substitute teacher after a few years of being a stay-at-home mother.
According to the statement, her family relocated to several places before landing in Carrollton, Texas. At the age of 68, she started classes at Texas Woman’s University and resigned from her thirty-year employment as a word processor and transcriptionist. During her undergraduate studies, she also attended classes at UNT’s campus in journalism and business.
“I went back to school almost immediately because I had always worked with words and enjoyed writing,” the woman remarked. “I wanted to get better at myself.
Payne eventually went back to UNT to complete her master’s degree in journalism after receiving her bachelor’s.
When some of her online classes started having in-person meetings, she changed to an interdisciplinary studies degree, according to the institution.
According to Payne, it wasn’t simple for unconventional students to attend college.
She admitted, “I had to study a lot and stay up late.” “But I succeeded.”
She claims that getting her master’s degree improved her and her family’s situation.
“I was getting better at life,” Payne remarked. “I try to do something to make my life and the lives of those around me better every day.”
A university representative told CNN that in 2009, the oldest student to obtain a degree from UNT was granted a master’s in education at the age of 97, which was almost thirty years after the student had finished their last coursework in the 1970s.
