Lousiana Woman Earns College Degree After 43 Years

When Georgia Rasmussen was close to finishing her degree in elementary education at theUniversity of Louisiana, Richard Nixon was the President, "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night was the no. 1 song of the year and The Chevy Vega was Motor Trend Magazines "Car of The Year."

She never received her degree. Not until now, anyway.

The year was 1971. Georgia's husband Mike was enlisted in the Navy and was transferred to San Diego. She left school, but expected at some point to return to college and finish her degree.

But then, as she says, "life happened."

Fast forward to fall 2013 when she re-enrolled after discovering that she needed only 11 more credits to earn her degree. With her family living in North Carolina, she took courses via the university's online program.

Now, the mother of three and grandmother of five will be awarded a bachelor's degree in general studies at the school's 2014 commencement ceremony.

"It was quite an experience," she said with a laugh, "but I’m extremely glad I did it."

[via University of Louisiana Lafayette]