Never too Late to Learn

When Susan White went back to high school a couple of years ago, she never had any thought about actually getting a high school diploma. "I just wanted to learn more," she said. But when she found out that many of her classmates were planning to graduate, Mrs. White recalled, "I said if my young friends can graduate from high school, so can I." She seems to have been right. As soon as she completes a history course, Mrs. White will graduate next month. And when she does, she will enter the record books as the oldest person ever to graduate from high school in the United States. Mrs. White is 98 years old, and nobody knows of anyone who has completed high school at an older age. Mrs. White dropped out of school in the 10th grade, but her ability to learn has obviously not been dulled by the 80-year layoff. Since going back to her studies she has kept up A straight—a record that is the highest possible. Now that she is about to get a diploma, Mrs. White has become a strong belief in getting a good education. "I don't like anyone dropping out of school," she said, "It makes me mad when a person decides to leave school, because future generations will have to know even more than we do in order to survive."