‘I don’t quit’: 91-year-old Georgia woman earns GED after decades of regret

Helen Woodyard returned to school at 88 and received a standing ovation as she finally walked across the graduation stage.

Helen Woodyard, 91, has become the oldest person in Georgia in the past decade to earn a GED credential. After years of regretting that she never finished high school, Woodyard returned to the classroom at 88 and finally walked across the stage to receive her diploma.

Woodyard’s achievement is more than an academic milestone. It is a reminder that unfinished dreams do not have an expiration date. According to WSB-TV Atlanta, Woodyard began attending adult education classes at West Georgia Technical College on her 88th birthday, inspired in part by watching her four children earn their degrees. For years, she carried the regret of never receiving her own diploma. Eventually, she decided it was not too late to change that.

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On July 29, Helen Woodyard joined 90 other students at the college’s commencement ceremony in Waco, Georgia, completing either high school equivalency or English as a Second Language programs. Her walk across the stage drew a standing ovation. “I never finished so I always regretted not getting my diploma,” Woodyard said. “I kept going because I don’t quit anything that I start.”

Her determination was also deeply personal. Helen Woodyard said she was willing to spend whatever time she had left completing the goal she had carried for decades. West Georgia Technical College President Dr. Julie Post presented Woodyard with her diploma after reading a congratulatory letter from the mayor of LaGrange.

The college’s Adult Education program provides free instruction to adults seeking high school equivalency credentials, English-language skills and preparation for further education or employment.