After earning bachelor鈥檚 at 70, grandmother has eye on master鈥檚

If fulfilling her lifelong ambition of earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree wasn鈥檛 proof enough that Edna Rawson won鈥檛 let age be a barrier to her success, consider this: The 70-year-old grandmother now has her sights set on a master鈥檚 degree in social work.

鈥淢y age isn鈥檛 preventing me from moving forward,鈥� Rawson said recently. She has since applied to a master鈥檚 program in social work that begins this summer, and is eyeing two others that begin in the fall.  And that鈥檚 not all. She鈥檚 looking into applying to law school as early as 2022.

Rawson was among more than 1,200 Texas Woman鈥檚 University graduates last December who participated in a memorable ceremony at Fort Worth鈥檚 Texas Motor Speedway in which graduation candidates took a victory lap around the track before accepting their diploma covers at the finish line. The day after she turned 70, Rawson earned her degree in general studies.

Besides the distinction of completing a degree during a global pandemic and maintaining a full-time job, there are other reasons to be in awe of Rawson鈥檚 extraordinary feat. The mother of six raised her children as a single parent.

Rawson grew up near the northern Louisiana town of Homer, but started spending summers in the Metroplex as a child until her family moved to Dallas permanently right before she enrolled in the ninth grade. Her father died when she was in elementary school, and her mother, who had dropped out of school in the eighth grade, had to work a grueling schedule to support the family.

鈥淣obody taught us to go to college, just to work鈥攁nd that鈥檚 what we did,鈥� Rawson recalled. 鈥淲hen you are poor, you think first about making money.鈥�

Her first college experience wasn鈥檛 long after high school, when she enrolled in one of Dallas College鈥檚 community campuses, but as with many other young college students, life happens, and she needed to switch her focus more toward earning a living than attending college.

鈥淚t was constant over the last 40 years,鈥� Rawson said, adding: 鈥淪ometimes, we get in our own way.鈥�

After an initial job at a local hospital carrying out minor tasks, she found herself embarking on a series of jobs over the course of her adult life, trying to find the right fit. Among the jobs she took were sales clerk, cashier, long-distance telephone operator, secretary, newspaper advertising representative, accounting assistant and receptionist.

Rawson worked at a department store, at a newspaper, at a health science center, an insurance office, a children鈥檚 shelter, for the Texas Department of Human Services and a community college district. She completed her bachelor鈥檚 degree while working full time in the advising department for Richland College, part of the Dallas Colleges network.

鈥淚 have been wanting this for more than 40 years, I guess I just didn鈥檛 know that when I first got out of high school,鈥� Rawson said. 鈥淚 knew God wanted me to do something else.鈥�

Completing her degree was an inspiration to her family and friends, and Rawson hopes it may provide a spark of motivation for others to follow their dreams. It鈥檚 certainly had an impact on one of her daughters.

鈥淭o see our mom do this at 70 years old has really inspired us,鈥� said Kayla Monroe, who lives in Dallas. 鈥淪he has inspired me to keep following my dream of doing what I want to do 鈥� sing.鈥�