88-Year-Old Maine Graduate Proves It’s Never Too Late

Let us share a story that is so good, you are literally going to give this woman a standing ovation.

At 88 years young, Joan Alexander of Rockland, Maine just made history as one of the oldest graduates of the University of Maine. This incredible achievement landed her on NBC News.

And this is not your typical four year college journey, it took her 66 years to get where she is. But, she did it. 

Rockland Woman Defies Age to Graduate from UMaine at 88

Joan first enrolled to UMaine from 1955-1959, she completed her courses in her education degree but, due to being pregnant, she wasn’t allowed to complete her teaching training. Why? Because of the times.

In those days, you were not allowed to do much as a woman, especially if you were pregnant.

She carried on with life and became a preschool teach in 1980, but her unfinished degree lingered in her mind for years.

Until her sweet daughter Tracy took Joan’s transcript and years of teaching experience back to UMaine. The university agreed that Joan had already don’t the word and in May 2025, her Bachelor of Science in Education was finally made official.

Joan said with pride,  

“I’d like to think that what happened to me is encouraging to other people who might possibly be in a similar situation,”

Her advice? “And at the end of something I wrote, I said, ‘Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Keep working.’”

Here's the story brought to you by WABI via YouTube. 

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