- Raelene Page from the USA completed her studies at Brigham Young University in Utah at the age of 74.
- Family and career didn’t allow the dream for decades.
- She started distance learning in 2022 – four years later she held her diploma in her hands.
For Raelene Page, a heartfelt wish came true: At the age of 74, she completed her studies at Brigham Young University in the US state of Utah.
Already in 1969 your application for a course of study accepted at the same university – but it was over 3000 kilometers away from her home. “My dreams of studying had to be put on hold,” she told People magazine.
“I lost hope of ever being able to study”
Instead, Page started a family and spent her time as a manager in a restaurant and as an accountant, among other things. She finally retired in 2012 after her last job as a post office manager.
“My children and work took up all my time and I lost hope of ever being able to study,” says Page. However, the desire to learn new things never completely disappeared from her heart. In 2021, Page learned that she could study at her dream university from home. She then enrolled and officially began her studies in 2022.
Grandchildren helped with technical difficulties
However, studying was not without obstacles: “The biggest challenge for me was that I learned in a rather old-fashioned way and had hardly any computer knowledge,” says Page.
Would you start training or studying when you get older?
“My grandmother kept calling us and asking how to save a document, how to right-click, or how to copy and paste something,” says her granddaughter Taylor. “We helped her when and where we could, but Raelene did a lot of it all on her own.”
“It was an incredible experience”
After four years, Page was finally able to achieve her goal and successfully complete her studies as a genealogist and family researcher. «When I walked across the stage at the graduation ceremony, it was an incredible experience. It seemed surreal to me,” says Page. «There I stood and had achieved what I had set out to do. Wow!”
Granddaughter Taylor posted her impressions of the emotional day on Tiktok, where many other users shared their joy with her and congratulated her grandmother. Raelene Page now hopes to use her story to encourage others. Especially the people who believe it is too late to pursue their heart’s desires.
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Alessia Rambaldi (ram) has been working for 20 minutes since 2024. After an internship in the Bern department, she moved to the news desk in May 2025.
