99-year-old woman graduates from college

Few college graduates have seen what Doreetha Daniels has seen.

At 99 years old, Daniels has lived through a number of watershed moments in American history, including the Great Depression, World War II, the Civil Rights movement, the moon landing and the rise of the Digital Age.

All of these events pale in comparison to what happened on Friday.

In what she describes as the gratifying moment of her life, Daniels graduated from College of the Canyons (COC) in Santa Clarita, Calif., with an associate degree in social sciences.

She is the oldest graduate in the university’s history.

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In a COC press release, Daniels said she wanted to finish her education to better herself. But her journey, which started in spring 2009, has been wrought with personal difficulties — from multiple strokes to sight and hearing issues to the revocation of her driver’s license.

Daniels also battled to keep up in intensive subjects — such as college-level math and statistics — becoming a regular at the Tutoring & Learning Center.

“Doreetha is a living testament to the saying ‘if there is a will, there is a way,’” COC counseling faculty member Liz Shaker said in the press release. “Her desire to get out of bed each day and come to school and face the challenges in and outside of the classroom inspired us all. She is truly an amazing woman who has impacted my life and I feel so fortunate that I was able to experience her journey alongside her.”

In a statement to KTLA 5, Daniels advised prospective students: “Don’t give up. Do it. Don’t let anybody discourage you. Say that, ‘I’m going to do it,’ and do it for yourself.”

Jaleesa Jones is a summer 2015 USA TODAY College intern and a recent alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.