A retired woman from Alabama is tying up some loose ends and crossing a major accomplishment off her bucket list: Vivian Cunningham finally earned her bachelor’s degree.
On May 8, Cunningham, 78, walked the graduation stage to receive her diploma from Samford University in Birmingham, where she completed six years of course work in the liberal studies program, the school announced in a press release.
In a video, Cunningham can be seen on her big day on stage donning a purple cap and gown, and red face mask, as she is awarded her degree.
Watch the video above.
"Samford University is proud to present its 78-years-young graduate, Vivian Rosetta Cunningham," said a speaker before presenting her with the degree.
Cunningham says she is thrilled to have finished her studies.
"Oh, I am so excited," she said. "It feels good, you know, to have gone through that education process."
"But I am so elated," she added. "I feel good. Real good."
Cunningham, a single mother of two, formerly worked in a dress shop in Atlanta before relocating to Birmingham, where she worked her way up the ranks at the Alabama Power Company.
While this is her first bachelor’s degree, it’s not her first go at higher education, or even her first diploma.
Over the years, she finished course work to get an associate's degree in paralegal studies from Virginia College before continuing her education at Samford.
Cunningham indicated that she may not even be done with school and may go for a master's degree next.
"Not go right into it. I have to rest for a while," she clarified on her graduation day.
"I don’t want to stop. I love to read. I love to sew. I love to watch movies. I don’t want to just sit because I’m retired. I want the knowledge," she said in the press release.
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