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Carlos Manuel Sera: Who at age 81 just graduated from Georgetown University 63-years after he began.
Of all the recent college graduations, this is one of the most unusual and compelling.
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In 1955, when Carlos became a Georgetown student, his father was a prosperous senior Cuban government official.
But in 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government, leaving the family in turmoil, and his father out of work.
Carlos, just one 4-unit business class shy of his degree, quit school to help support his family. Eventually he married and had his own family to support.
But for all these years, he regretted never graduating from Georgetown University, a secret he recently revealed to his 18-year-old granddaughter Vanessa.
She told her mother, Mayte Sera Weitzman, who wrote to the President of Georgetown.
The result: Professor Thomas Cooke enrolled Carlos in one of his business classes, which Carlos attended largely by telephone from his Houston home, 1400-miles away.
“I jokingly said to Carlos one day, ‘I hope you’re not planning on joining a fraternity.’ He laughed, Professor Cooke told NBC4 Washington News.
“'Or the basketball team.’ And his response was, ‘I was on the basketball team!’”
Carlos earned an A from Professor Cooke. “I said, ‘Professor, you have no idea how I have been fulfilled.’”.
At 81, Carlos has health issues and could not travel to Georgetown to attend the graduation, but he participated online, as the school acknowledged his remarkable journey.
With his Georgetown graduation, Carlos said, “I’m home,” with tears in his eyes, his hand on his heart.
Editor's Note:
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In the next KazanToday:
A 65-year-old recovering drug addict and former homeless man who recently graduated from college.
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