African-American Great-Grandmother Graduates From Mount Holyoke

Luora G. Webb, an 82-year-old great-grandmother from Springfield, Massachusetts, earned a degree in African and African-American history this spring from Mount Holyoke College. She is believed to be the oldest woman ever to be awarded a degree from the college.

Webb had previously earned an associate’s degree from Springfield Technical Community College. She then applied for and received a Francis Perkins Scholarship for nontraditional students from Mount Holyoke. She took three courses each semester. The only classes Webb missed were when she did not want to drive to the college during snowstorms.

Webb worked for the public school system in Springfield for 42 years as a secretary and an accountant.

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