After six decades of dreaming, Betty Sandison finally made dream come true
A few days ago, Betty Sandison just turned 84 and marked her 84th year on earth with some great news; she graduated from college!
Sandison was the first in her family to go to college.
“I grew up on a farm with no electricity.”, she says.
In 1955, Sandison first started college and earned a certification for becoming a licensed practical nurse from the University of Minnesota. After a year, she was facing financial issues and decided to pursue a teaching degree instead.
However, she had to put everything on hold in the middle of that degree because she was getting married and wanted to have children herself.
In the 1980s, Sandison worked her way to an associate’s degree and went on to work as a registered nurse and retired in the profession as well.
However, a friend of hers pointed out that this is not all she had wanted from life.
“It was something I’ve always wanted,” she said. “She said, ‘What’s stopping you?’ and I didn’t have an answer,” Sandison recalled of her conversation with her friend.
So after a 60-year gap, Sandison went back to college. In 2018, she started her journey again in college to finally earn her degree.
And four years later, 84-year-old walked on stage to collect her bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies from the College of Continuing and Professional Studies.
“I’m really proud of myself. I mean, it was a goal — a dream fulfilled.”, a beaming Sandison shared.
According to Sandison, none of it was easy. She shared that tuition was not as low as it used to be and learning new technologies presented an issue but her class fellows were there to help her every step of the way. She said her friendships with her class fellows were great.
“It gave me so much joy and I looked at them I thought, this world is going to be just fine,” said Sandison of the younger pupils in her class.
She went on to encourage other people to go after their dreams, no matter what age they are, “People say, ‘I could never do that,’ and I say, ‘Yes, you could if you want it bad enough.’”
Sandison only had 25 credits left to finish her degree. Her friends and family threw her a party to celebrate this achievement of a lifetime!
