Dolores Darrell realised a lifetime dream this month when she graduated from university at the age of 77.Mrs Darrell was the oldest of 14,000 students at Liberty University’s commencement ceremony in Lynchburg, Virginia.“When originally I left school, I was a young teenager,” she said. “I was a prefect at the Girls’ Institute of Arts and Crafts, but I was the one that had the downfall. At that time they did not have after-school programmes for pregnant mothers or anything like that. I left school and was a dressmaker. I married at 19, but it did not last.”She had four children, Roderick Bassett, Stuart Bassett, Claudette Rumley and Claude Bassett.She worked at Gibbons Company and later became one of the first black Bermudian women to be employed in the exempt company industry. She eventually started her own business, DL Accounting Management and Service. She also bought her own building and ran the Sea View Gym. She eventually remarried and is now the wife of Lionel S Darrell.“In the back of my mind though I always wanted to finish my education,” she said. “Education was always my passion.”A brief disagreement served as her motivation.“I remember discussing an issue with a committee member,” said Mrs Darrell. “I questioned some of the things that were being said during a meeting. One of the committee members said ‘I have to explain things like this to people like you’.”Mrs Darrell was hurt by the comment and assumed she meant ‘uneducated people like you’.“I was driving home and I felt so depressed,” she said. “I prayed to God ‘what did she mean by this; that I am uneducated?’. I prayed and cried about it driving home. Before I got home the Lord answered me. He said ‘if you feel that bad and inferior then do something about it’. The moment I got home I got on my computer and started looking for schools.”In 2006, having completed two years of study online, she received a general high school diploma from James Madison High School in Norcross, Georgia.“After I completed that, the Lord was there and said ‘you could go further’,” she said. “I am a faith-driven person. The little voice inside me said, you did well in your high school work, now go on to get your college degree.”However, just enrolling presented some challenges. To apply she needed transcripts from her early education but she soon learned that all Government education records burned in a fire in 1955. She had to get letters from people involved in her education to vouch for her. Once that was finally dealt with she decided she wanted to experience in-house education. She attended Florida Christian College from 2006 to 2010, obtaining an associate’s degree.“I hear my grandchildren saying it is so hard,” she said. “I wanted to be able to say ‘it is not so hard’. However, there were challenges. When I started out I majored in Christian counselling, but I found out when I was halfway through that, that it required a lot more than I felt I was able to do. I changed my major to Bible education and Bible leadership.”She enrolled at Liberty University in Virginia to complete her bachelor's degree in religion.And then her husband became very ill. He was a dialysis patient and had a triple heart bypass. She was going back and forth to a hospital in Florida, so she did most of her courses online, because it was easier.“Taking courses online with Liberty was quite a wonderful experience,” she said. “The professors were so good. I gained quite a bit from that. My whole objective was to gain knowledge and more faith.”When she went up to receive her bachelor of science degree in religion on May 12, she received a standing ovation from her fellow classmates.“It was such a wonderful experience,” said Mrs Darrell. “I didn’t expect it. I had met some young women before the graduation. They said ‘stand up, stand up’. When I looked everyone was standing. One of the things I was thrilled about was to be able to receive my certificate from my favourite professor and author Dr Elma Towns, co-founder of Liberty University.”Mrs Darrell has 13 grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. She wants to set an example for them.“I feel very proud of myself,” she said. “A lot of them feel I am inspiration to them. My daughter-in-law, Carol Ann Bassett, is president of the Senate. She went back to school and recently became an ordained minister.”She wanted her grandchildren and other young people to know that college is what you make of it.“If you want to learn you have to accept the ups and the downs,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to ask the professor for help. I encourage even my friends at the age that I am to complete their education to further their goals.”She considered her education a gift from God. With the commencement behind her, she wanted to take what she had learned and use it to help her husband with his health problems. However, she had no plans to go into the Ministry.“I love to just talk to people and help where I can,” she said. “I attend the Marsden First United Methodist Church. Rev Joseph Whalen is my pastor. Everyone at my church has been so encouraging. We had planned to be home for May 24, but with my husband in the hospital in Florida, we could not return. My first priority right now is to get him back on his feet.”Useful website: www.liberty.edu.