An 80-year-old history major made history on Wednesday by becoming the oldest student to ever graduate from Butler County Community College.
William “Don” Thomas, from Saxonburg, received an associate of arts degree in history.
He’s a veteran of the Air Force and started taking college classes in the 1950s while stationed in France. 60 years later, he enrolled at BC3 to get the job done.
Thomas eclipsed 74-year-old Audrey Wilson, who before Wednesday, was BC3’s most-senior graduate.
According to a report by USA Today, 99-year-old Doreetha Daniels- who received a degree from a community college in California in 2015- is the most senior person to ever graduate college in the country.
“To the student of today, you have to say to yourself…‘Don’t give up.’ You can go work, you can go do this-and-that, but the big thing is…don’t ever give up the dream,” Thomas said in an interview with Butler Radio earlier this month.
