Great grandmother earns NIU degree 71 years after starting college
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It took her more than 70 years, but Joyce DeFauw has completed her bachelor's degree at Northern Illinois University, attending her commencement Sunday in DeKalb.
DeFauw, 90, started at NIU in 1951, but left college to start a family.
In 2019, when she told her children she regretted never finishing her degree, they encouraged her to go back.
Instead of going to classes on campus, she attended NIU online, with her very first computer.
She earned a bachelor's degree in general studies, making her 17 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren very proud.
