Jeddah Ontario "85-year-old woman graduates from university"

 A unique graduate attended the graduation ceremony in Toronto " a woman 85 years old from Markham Ontario".

Hortense Valerie Anglin, who received a Bachelor of Arts degree from York University, said: "It feels really wonderful".

The Canada-born Jamaican had returned to school with her 79-year-old sister, Ausra Lindo, who earned a degree at York alongside her granddaughter Vanessa Joy Anglin.

In June 2018, after her education was marginalized after high school more than 50 years ago, Anglin was eager to keep the books, but faced a number of obstacles along the way.

Anglin said, “I couldn't start immediately because my husband was ill, and I had to devote all my time to caring for him.”

When Anglin’s 52-year-old husband passed away in 2014, she said she focused on completing the 13-week Bridging for Women program at York.

Anglin added, "I moved to the TD Engagement Centre at York University to attend," but like most students during the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to switch to remote learning, but I remained committed to focusing on religious studies. She said: “I loved learning about a variety of subjects, and the last subject I completed to graduate was ‘Understanding the Changing World’ and I fell in love with anthropology.”

She has already enrolled in more courses at York this fall, and looking ahead, she may reach the stage of ordination again in the near future. "Who knows, my next calling might be to get a master's degree in the next two years."

"I enjoyed every moment of this journey, it was very meaningful and delightful".