Great-granny becomes oldest to earn master’s
Jim Swanson August 2nd, 2007 - 4:40 pmBy Reuters staff writers
94-year-old Aussie who quit school at 12 earns degree in medical science
CANBERRA, Australia - A 94-year-old Australian great-great-grandmother who quit school at 12 is said to have become the world’s oldest person to earn a university master’s degree.
Medical Science Master’s Degree graduate Phyllis Turner, from Australia’s Adelaide University, began studying for her postgraduate degree at age 90 and received her award this week.
“I feel very very happy after five years of study, but sorry that I am just a little bit immobilized,” Turner, who uses a walking stick, told Australian papers.
Degree supervisor Professor Maciej Henneberg said he had been amazed by Turner’s energy and dedication to study.
A-A lively mind-
“Mentally she was like any other student. You couldn-t tell her thinking, her enthusiasm and her interests apart from somebody who was 25. She has a lively mind,” he told Reuters.“She used to wake up at 5 a.m. in the morning and think about something, and then ring to say she wanted to check on it.”
Turner left primary school at 12 to help her mother look after her siblings after her father left the family.
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