Tulsa author and activist Ann Patton graduates from college – weeks shy of 80th birthday

When Tulsa author Ann Patton graduated from high school in 1955, college was not an option for poor kids like her.

“The University of Tulsa was the only option for students who could not leave Tulsa, and it might as well have been the moon,” she said.

By age 22, Patton was married with four kids. Growing up in west Tulsa, Patton was taught that education is the preparation for complete living. So she never gave up on her dream of earning a college degree.

On May 15, Patton will participate in the OSU-Tulsa’s graduation ceremony after four decades of earning “a crazy-quilt collection of college hours from several schools that I always dreamed might add up to a degree.”

She will receive her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies. The ceremony is just weeks before her 80th birthday in July.

Originally published by OSU Tulsa.  Click here to read the full article.