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Becoming a doctor at 72.
Many of us have a lifelong dream waiting to be fulfilled. But as the years pass, it is easy to convince ourselves, it is too late to pursue.
Our story today is about Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft, who first dreamed of becoming a doctor at just 7 years old.
Over the years, Dawn became a nurse practitioner, where she invested four decades of her life, but becoming a doctor was postponed as she raised two children.
After remarrying and welcoming two more children, her dream of becoming a doctor was once again put on hold.
But then a life-altering event changed everything:
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In 2020, Don's husband, Carl Craft, suffered a near fatal brain hemorrhage. The experience was a powerful reminder of life's fragility and inspired her to finally pursue her lifelong dream.
Using her retirement funds, at 69, Dawn enrolled at the St. James School of Medicine in Anguilla in the Caribbean.
She chose to see the age gap as an opportunity rather than an obstacle, forming friendships through yoga classes and helping classmates succeed by tutoring them in anatomy and physiology. She and Carl also hosted movie nights.
Meanwhile, Dawn broadened her clinical experience by completing rotations in four different U.S. states.
Then, her lifelong dream came true:
Dawn earned her Doctor of Medicine degree in May 2026 at 72, setting a school record as its oldest medical graduate.
And at 73, an age when many people have retired, Dawn began her three-year family medicine residency at Trinity Health Medical Center in Muskegon, Michigan.
Dawn told CBS affiliate WZZM, she might be "the oldest ever graduating medical student in the world," a claim Guiness World Records is examining.
"There's some people that aren't meant to retire, it's not part of them," Dawn added, "That's probably me."
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