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Meet Minnie: The Lady Who Earned Her Master’s At The Age of 90
Minnie Payne, an American resident, achieved a milestone by earning her Master’s Degree in interdisciplinary studies at the age of 90. She reached the peak of her academic journey last weekend at the University of North Texas by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of other graduates. She is the oldest student of UNT to complete her master’s which is an accomplishment. She earned her diploma after 73 years of her high school graduation in the interdisciplinary field. Minnie Payne happily crossed the stage to collect her well-earned diploma during Sunday’s graduating event, escorted by her grandson.
As per the article released by the University of North Texas, It is seen that her journey to the commencement platform started in the textile mill village of poor South Carolina, where she was brought up and raised. She was raised by the mill workers and with their help she pursued and completed her high school education back in 1950. Later, she attended junior college for some time however she had to drop it to start her career as a clerk at a real estate company.
Minnie tied the knot with her late husband, Dale in 1961. Before giving birth to two children, she worked as a reporter at court and was hired by the South Carolina Industrial Commission. She resumed her academic journey by joining the school at the age of 68 after retiring as a transcriptionist and word processor. She served that lane for 30 years. She earned her Bachelor’s at the age of 73 from the Texas Woman’s University with a diploma in General Studies in 2006. Along with that, she completed a business course and three journalism seminars at the UNT campus as a part of her undergraduate curriculum.
Apart from this, Minnie Payne is equally passionate about penning popular articles and sharing motivational tales. Despite the obstacles she had to face and go through being a non-traditional student, she is still proud of the achievements she made and her overall personal development. The native American woman shared that she had to stay awake countless nights in order to complete and submit her assignments. According to her, “Attending college as a nontraditional student wasn’t easy. I really had to study and spent many all-nighters, but I made it.”
She further talked about how each day she was improving her life as well as the lives of those around her. Age and passing time did not create a wall of discouragement or an obstacle to continuing her studies. Now, the same lady after years of effort is sharing the motivational story of perseverance, hard work, and passion.
It seems that this doesn’t necessarily mean that her academic journey is coming to an end. The native American lady is currently working as a recruit at a magazine in Houston. During her commencement, she also said “In some way or another, I want to continue learning,” according to an article published by the University of North Texas.
