Close Ad

12-Year-Old Is Forced to Start Working to Pay Bills - Finally, She Decides to Finish What She Started 60 Years Ago
73-Year-Old Graduates From University Proving It’s Never Too Late
Uplifting News

12-Year-Old Is Forced to Start Working to Pay Bills - Finally, She Decides to Finish What She Started 60 Years Ago

After retiring, one great-grandmother goes back to school to finish what she started six decades earlier.

When it comes to accomplishing dreams you set out for yourself as a kid, it’s never too late. One great-grandmother from Queensland is living proof that your dreams stick with you forever.

Sharon Sutton didn’t grow up with much. When she was a kid, she wasn’t able to attend high school because of a lack of resources. At age 12, she got a job to help her family pay the bills. 


Why One Woman Had to Start Working at 12 Years Old

person cutting cloth with scissors
Photo by cottonbro studio

Fast forward six decades and 73-year-old Sharon is pictured throwing her graduate cap during her commencement ceremony. “I've never stopped learning," Sharon said. “Even in those 55 years between finishing primary school and starting university, I don't think I ever stopped learning. I was always reading something and finding something new.”

As a kid, Sharon loved to go to school. She had aspirations of becoming a history and geography teacher when she graduated. “I just assumed I was going on to high school,” she said. “I said something to my mum about, ‘Next year when I go to high school’ — and she told me that there was no high school… because mum and dad didn't have the money to buy uniforms or books or shoes. I was 12 when I started working in a clothing factory, which today would be called a sweatshop.”

Sharon always knew she would get her degree one day. Over the next 40 years, Sharon and her husband worked on a cattle farm while raising their children and grandchildren.

When she retired, she remembered what she set out to do and enrolled herself at the University of the Sunshine Coast. At school, she studied a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English and minoring in history and Indigenous studies.

How a Grandmother Proved the Importance of Chasing Your Dreams

Today, Sharon stands proud of the five years she worked to get her degree. She was constantly surrounded by people much younger than her but always managed to keep her head up. “I didn't just scrape over the line, she said. “I got good marks in so many subjects and so many assignments.” 

What Sharon found the most difficult in all of her studies was the technological aspect. She had to create PowerPoints and submit online assignments, which she had never done before. “I can remember submitting my first assignment and wondering whether it was going into the black hole of technology and if I'd ever see it again,” Sharon said. “PowerPoint presentations were an absolute nightmare, but I always got over the line with the content.” 

When Sharon was completing the forms for graduation everything became real. "I started to cry. I thought, 'Gee, it's real now, it’s not something just down the track. It's actually going to happen, I'm actually going to get a university degree,'” she said. “I think Mum would be proud.”

Sharon’s message to everyone wanting to further their education is to “just go for it.” It’s never too late to finish what you started.

“The environment and the atmosphere is so good, and mixing with the young people and listening to their views on things — it's just a great experience,” she mentioned. “I miss it terribly already.”

More from Goalcast:

Hot Stories

Leonardo DiCaprio Told Kate Winslet To “Let The Fat Girl Thing Go”
Leo Dicaprio Told Kate Winslet To “Let The Fat Girl Thing Go” …

Forced to feel ashamed for her weight and appearance, Kate Winslet struggled with her body image for years. The media loved to tease her for being “the fat girl,” but there was ONE PERSON who saw the real her. What did Leo see in Kate? And what important message does Kate have for young women everywhere?


Keep ReadingShow less
Videos
Woman wearing a tie-dye shirt, two little kids holding a heartbreaking sign and two people holding hands.

Poor Boy Begs For Money to "Bury My Mama" With Heartbreaking Sign

Facebook/ Shannon Mount and Facebook/Jennifer Fife

A week ago, 11-year-old Kayden Ely experienced the devastating loss of his mother, Shannon Mount. Her unexpected passing didn't just leave Kayden and his four siblings without their mom, it also left the family in dire financial straits.

Desperate to raise funds for his mom's funeral, Kayden took to the streets of his small town in Georgia begging for help. For two days the heartbroken little boy stood next to the railroad tracks, holding a sign that read, "Please help me bury my mama!"

Keep ReadingShow less
Uplifting News
Man standing with two daughters, a black purse and a handwritten note (inset)

Grieving Daughter Finds Note In Fossil Purse While Thrifting

Courtesy Anna Harp and Courtesy of Abrielle Clausing (via People.com)

Thrifting can net all sorts of treasures. Shoppers can snatch up everything from vintage clothes to mid-century modern furniture to kitschy knick-knacks, all without breaking the bank.

But for one grieving woman, she found a hidden gem that was truly priceless.

Keep ReadingShow less
Uplifting News