80-Year Old Graduates Alongside Grandchildren
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- An 80-year old woman is graduating alongside two of her grandchildren this weekend.
Rosa Salgado, is getting her Associate in Arts degree, but it didn't come easy.
"Every moment, the main thought was work, study, learn," said Salgado.
She arrived to Miami from Colombia in 1995 along with her husband of 36 years and three children.
While she raised her children, Salgado enrolled in English classes at Miami Dade College (MDC) in 1996.
As she studied, the economic pressures of raising three children led her to become a caretaker at MDC's Childcare Center.
Salgado took five bus routes daily just to get to school and work.
But that routine was broken in 2005, when her daughter had a traumatic accident, landing her in a coma for an extended period of time.
That's when Salgado decided to drop her class load from full-time to part-time.
Despite all that, Salgado maintained a grade point average of 3.8. It's something she credits to her family and the school.
"With the love of my husband and children and the support I found at the Wolfson Campus, I was able to achieve the distinct honor of graduating from this prestigious institution," Salgado said.
Salgado now has six grandchildren including the two who will be alongside her on graduation day.
"One of my grandsons is going to FIU to study biology. The oldest is going to study. He is a paralegal," said Salgado.
The graduation ceremony is set for Saturday at 8 a.m. at the James L. Knight Center.
What's next for her?
"I am going to think about creating poems about children because I like poems. I am going to illustrate some stories for children," said Salgado."I love art and education and anything to do with children."
As for the lesson learned, Salgado said, "I want the people to have this example to begin or to continue studying."