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61-Year-Old Mom of Four Goes Back to College, Graduates with Youngest Son Day Before Mother's Day

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I recently started to go back to college online. I was a wanderlust 21-year-old who had no idea which career path to pursue. I couldn’t decide between becoming a National Park Ranger or becoming a missionary — two vastly different paths.

So I spontaneously dropped out of school, packed my bags, and moved to the Southwest. I figured the desert would be a good place to meditate on my life goals. It’s been four years since I moved and I am extremely grateful for everything that has happened during that time, but I’ve only had one regret.

I wish I had finished my degree. Now that I’ve settled in a big city with actual Wi-fi connection, I decided now would be a good time.

Before I started my classes, I was extremely nervous because of how long my break from school was. Can you get dumber? What if I don’t take tests as well as I used to? How do you write that many words on one given subject?

I’m sure similar questions went through Jeanine Dinsmore’s mind before she went back to school in 2009. While I was nervous about the four years that had passed since I was in class, she had not been in school since she graduated high school in 1974!

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She began to pursue her child development degree at Sacramento State 35 years after her last day in a classroom.

Jeanine said, “Most of the people in my classes, whether it was community college or here, are in their 20-somethings. I’m old enough to be their mom. Some of them, their grandma!”

The mother of four was working three jobs while going back to school so she needed a very strong support system to help encourage her to succeed. Luckily, there was a friendly face on campus that helped remind her of her educational goals.

Her youngest son, Joshua, 27, attended Sacramento State at the same time! The two are even scheduled to graduate on the same weekend in May 2018. Joshua said it wasn’t planned.


Joshua originally attended community college and had plans to transfer to a different university in California, but after changing his major he decided to go to the same school as his mother.

Jeanine tried to avoid embarrassing her son as much as possible by letting him decide when to say “hello.”

“Every now and then, we’d run into each other on campus. I (said hi) but I tried not to make it so obvious that she was my mother though,” Joshua said.

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Jeanine wants to encourage any other parents considering going back to school, “Anybody who thinks they shouldn’t go back to school, don’t think that. The reward is so awesome.”

The graduation ceremonies are set for Mother’s Day weekend. While Jeanine is excited to finally receive her college degree, being able to graduate with her son is the perfect Mother’s Day gift she never expected to receive.

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Kayla has been a staff writer for The Western Journal since 2018.
Kayla Kunkel began writing for The Western Journal in 2018.
Birthplace
Tennessee
Honors/Awards
Lifetime Member of the Girl Scouts
Location
Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
News, Crime, Lifestyle & Human Interest




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