WESTFORD, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) --We first introduced you to Genevieve Johnson last month. The 94-year-old grew up during the Great Depression and chose to work instead of graduate from high school to help her family. However, she decided to go back to school and graduated on Friday.
When Genevieve dropped out of school to work, the member of the Westford Academy class of 1936 was just two credits short of graduating.
"It was terrible back then. I was only a kid. I wouldn't like to see anyone else live through it. You didn't know where your food was going to come from one day to the next. But we lived on a farm," she said.
Now 78 years later, Genevieve has finally finished what she started.
"Well I don't have many years left and I wanted to see that I had graduated," she said.
It all started when the coordinator at Westford's Senior Center came up with a question for the seniors.
"I simply asked is there anything you wish you'd done differently in your life. Immediately she said I wish I had graduated from school," Coordinator Annette Cerullo said.
Genevieve said she thought about going to back to school several times in the past, but was unsure of how to go about it. So, the students and staff of Westford Academy helped her out. For the past six weeks, three senior girls drove her to school twice per week and the 94-year-old sat in history, English and art classes.
And that hard work paid off. On Friday, Genevieve walked right up on stage joined by her three new friends, and with tears in her eyes, she proudly accepted her diploma as her daughter looked on.
"If i go to heaven, I'll take my diploma with me," she said.