At 96, This Woman's Goal Is to Finish School Before She's 100

So many of us take our time in the classroom for granted. But this 96-year-old woman is seeking to live out her dream of finishing high school by her 100th birthday. Palacios, 96, was never able to attend school as a child growing up in rural Mexico. But three years ago she decided to enroll in a literacy program — at the age of 92 — and then, once she passed that, a primary school program for adult learners.

Now, she's graduated on to a public high school in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez and she couldn't be happier, NDTV reports. 

"I feel ready to give it my all," she told NDTV. "Today is a marvelous day,"

Palacios, according to the report, grew up in an indigenous village in Mexico's Chiapas region. She was never able to attend school because she worked on her family's farm, where they produced beans and corn. 

As an adult, she went to work selling chickens at market, married twice and had six children.

Along the way, she picked up arithmetic, but never learned to read and write.

When she turned 92, she said, she decided it was time and enrolled in a literacy program.

"Now I can write letters to my boyfriends," she said with a laugh.

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/986798138974334976

But she did not stop there: In 2015, she enrolled in a primary school program for adult learners.

In less than four years, she completed both primary and middle school.

But there was no adult learning program for high school — so she decided to enroll in a regular public school, with classmates eight decades younger.

Already, she is looking beyond high school: She would like to be a kindergarten teacher someday.

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Meet The Author

This post is authored by Olusegun Fapohunda, the founder and editor of MySchoolGist.

Boasting over a decade of expertise in the education sector, Olusegun offers current insights into educational trends, career opportunities and the latest news.

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