Earning a college degree is an impressive feat for any student in higher education. But for one 78-year-old graduate, finally earning her bachelor’s degree after several decades of putting off her schooling has been all the more special.

Vivian Cunningham, 78, was among the 553 students graduating in the Class of 2021 at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday. According to a statement from the university, she spent a total of six years earning her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies.

“There were some times I wanted to give up,” she said in a statement to Samford University News. Despite the challenges over the better part of a decade when she thought to herself, “I’m not going back — I’m just tired,” she “just [kept] on going.”

According to Samford University News, Cunningham grew up in Titusville with aspirations to become a seamstress like her grandmother and great-grandmother before her. She mastered the art of sewing in trade school and even worked as a seamstress professionally in Atlanta for a period of time.

However, by the time she had children of her own and became a single mom, she returned to Titusville in the 1960s and took up custodial night work at the Alabama Power Company.

After putting in 13 years with the company, she told the outlet that when she transitioned to day shifts, she first learned about the Alabama Power Company’s tuition reimbursement program. It would allow her to go back to school to earn a degree with financial assistance from the company.

While working full-time in the mailroom, Cunningham earned her associate degree in Paralegal Studies from Virginia College, Samford University News reported. When she retired in 1992, she decided to continue working towards a bachelor’s degree with the Birmingham college, which offered night school classes.

After a total of 15 years of earning college credits, six of which were spent earning her bachelor’s degree, she got to walk across the stage at Seibert Stadium in Homewood on Mother’s Day weekend.

When asked about how it felt to hear her classmates cheer for her while walking on the stage, Cunningham told Storyful, “I was amazed. I really felt great … I was just elated.”

Cunningham has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. She is tentatively planning to pursue her master’s degree, albeit after a well-deserved break from obtaining her bachelor’s.

Read more about this inspirational story here!

(Picture courtesy of Samford University)

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