Kicker - An education finally complete

NICK EICHER, HOST: Some people just embody the word “perseverance.”

Bill Gossett of Lincoln, Illinois dropped out of college to join the military during wartime. After completing his service, he went into the family business for a long while before heading back to school. Here’s what he told TV station KRSP:

GOSSETT: There was always a void there that I didn’t complete something.

Well, Gossett filled that void.

He finished up his Associates degree at Lincoln College...and it only took 80 years to do it! You see, he put his education on hold after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

School officials said everyone was “inspired by [Gossett’s] desire to obtain a degree” no matter how many years had passed.

Lincoln College President David Gerlach surprised the 97-year-old graduate last week by awarding him not only an associates degree, but also an honorary doctorate.

GERLACH: His life of service proving his associates degree is so much more than that.

Gossett actually graduated in 2020, so his ceremony was delayed for a year. But what’s one year when you’ve already waited this long?

It’s The World and Everything in It.

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