A 94-year-old Australian great-great-grandmother who quit school at 12 is said to have become the world’s oldest person to earn a university masters degree.
Medical Science Masters Degree graduate Phyllis Turner, from Australia’s Adelaide University, began studying for her postgraduate degree at age 90 and received her award this week. [Canada.com]
“I feel very very happy after five years of study, but sorry that I am just a little bit immobilized,” Mrs Turner, who uses a walking stick, told Australian papers.
Turner left primary school at 12 to help her mother look after her siblings after her father left the family. She returned to study almost 60 years later, enrolling at the prestigious Adelaide University to study anthropology at age 70, winning honors in 2002 before moving on to her masters.
It is not official that she is the world’s oldest person to earn a university masters degree; but regardless if it’s a world record, it is still a wonderful achievement… congratulations Mrs Turner, Brava!