According to a press release on the institution's
official website, Washington worked tirelessly throughout her life to put her
12 children through school.
An 89-year-old woman who is also a new college graduate isn’t stopping there. Ella Washington, who graduated Saturday with an associate degree in interdisciplinary studies, is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in history at Liberty University in Virginia. pic.twitter.com/luE8djZytI— Threepenny Writer (@sanmonbunshi1) May 29, 2018
She worked full-time alongside looking after her family, yet
she never relinquished her desire to gain a formal education of her own; now,
she's planning to return and work towards a bachelor's degree in History.
When she was young, Washington dropped out of school in the
sixth grade; yet, her daughter reveals, it never deterred her from teaching her
own children important skills.
Daughter Ellen Mitchell recalls:
“She has always been a lifelong learner. Her desire for
learning and for pursuing an education became a family tradition.
She taught all of her children how to read, write and do math
prior to their beginning school, just as her grandmother taught her and her
siblings.”
Over the years, Washington has undertaken several job roles
which range from janitor to nursing assistant at an adult daycare.
She moved to Washington D.C. as a young mother
and continued working until she was in her early 80s before quitting, and
using her newly-earned free time to enrol in Liberty's online program.
Her work ethic undeniably set a strong example for her
daughters; in her statement, Mitchell continues:
“Coming to D.C, there weren't many opportunities for a poorly
educated black woman, but she worked hard doing whatever she could to make sure
we were taken care of.”
Mitchell also told indy100 that her mother
never took a GED test and attended classes as an adult learner, picking up
where she stopped in the sixth grade so many years before.
Washington isn't the only woman to recently prove that
education has no age limit; just a few weeks ago, 92-year-old Annie
Dillard collected her fourth degree after years of studying.
Like Washington, she also plans to return to education.
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