Skip navigation

Great-grandmother earns GED

79-year-old left school in eighth grade to farm in 1940s; hopes to inspire

Boy is OK after tree branch skewered his neck
Garret Mullikin, 12, was riding a dirt bike for the first time when he fell off it — and onto a thick tree branch that drove into his neck and through his lung. Now recovering after emergency surgery, he said he feels “a lot better than when I got the stick in my neck.”

The Week in...  
  
Image: Sunshine International Aquarium Reveals Fennec Babies
Getty Images
  Animal Tracks
From a trio of fennec foxes to a gang of squeaky clean monkeys, find images of animals great and small.
Image:
AP
  Week in Pictures
Prayers for rain, street battles in Honduras and Michael Jackson's last dance are among this week's memorable pictures from around the globe.
Image: The Pretenders Perform In Madrid
Getty Images
  The Week in celebrity sightings
Chrissie Hynde is a long way from Ohio, friends and family remember Ed McMahon, Kiefer Sutherland takes a New York stroll and more.
  What prompted Palin’s resignation?
July 4: In a hastily arranged news conference at her home in suburban Wasilla, Alaska Gov. Sarah abruptly announced she will formally resign from office at the end of the month. NBC’s Lester Holt and Chuck Todd discuss the possible reasons for the lawmaker’s move.

updated 9:58 p.m. ET March 19, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Ola Mae Venable spent only three days in eighth grade before deciding she'd rather work on her family's farm.

That was in the 1940s. Now, at the age of 79, Venable is a great-grandmother and the proud holder of a diploma.

Venable earned a General Educational Development diploma on Tuesday when she passed her final math test.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

She sailed through science, social studies and other tests, but math didn't come easily. Venable spent the last five months studying practice tests and working with a tutor to learn algebra and geometry, The Winston-Salem Journal reports.

She said she didn't know it would be quite so difficult, but she was determined to finish. She didn't want to drop out of school twice.

Venable now has six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. She hopes to inspire other people who think they're too old to finish school.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links

Resource guide