71-Year-Old Man Graduates With Master’s Degree, Hopes To Inspire Others To Give Back

Leroy Harley returned to school in his home state of South Carolina at the age of 69, and now, at 71, he is graduating with his master’s degree.

While he did it for himself, he says he also did it to help give back to his community.

It started when Harley moved back to South Carolina to care for his ailing mother. But when she got better, he knew he had to do something other than just sit around.

Harley always loved helping his nieces and nephews with their homework, so his mom suggested that he volunteer at a local school in his free time.

Harley loved it so much that he decided to go back to school and enrolled in the University of South Carolina Transition to Teaching program.

During the last two years, Harley has served as an elementary school assistant in special education, art and keyboarding, and even started a drama club.

Now, he’s graduating with a master’s degree.

Harley hopes his story will inspire others to give back, whether it’s introducing young kids to experiences outside their neighborhoods, or any other way they can.

“I grew up in an era where it was that at 65, you were gonna retire,” Harley told GMA. “By having that mindset, you push aside a lot of people with knowledge, people with not necessarily knowledge that comes from the book, but just in general, knowledge that will be able to help a kid to get through a situation.”

“You have something to offer, go out and give it.”

Hear more of his inspiring story in the video below:

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