A member of Southern Methodist University’s Class of 2022 is ready to complete her decades-long education journey to the graduation stage this weekend.
Southern Methodist University is preparing for graduation this weekend. Among the graduating Class of 2022, Marillyn Burton Seeberger, who is a little older than the typical college grad.
"I am 85," Seeberger said. "My husband says my insurance age is 86."
Seeberger will get her bachelor's degree in film and media arts from SMU 68-years after she graduated from high school in Ardmore, Oklahoma in 1954.
"That's me," Seeberger said pointing to a black and white class photo. "Those people were awfully young...it seems like yesterday, you know? In my head, I'm about 18."
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Seeberger said she planned to go to college after high school, but took a detour.
"A fella that I had been seeing who was a bit older than I gave me an engagement ring on the night of graduation, and I went, 'Oh, what'll I do now?'"
Seeberger got married, started a family, and had a career in media and advertising.
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She started going to community college 6-years ago at the age of 80 and realized she'd stacked up enough credits to do something with them. Her next stop was SMU.
"Cause I thought, you know, there's not a lot of time left," Seeberger said laughing. "I felt like I needed credentials, and I felt like if I'm going to put myself out there as a screenwriter, I need to be able to say I've been properly trained."
That's Seeberger's next goal; screenwriting.
"I always wanted to write and I still do, and that's something I think I can still do as long as my brain is working and my fingers are working on the keyboard," Seeberger said. "I already knew that I was tenacious, so I've learned that I still have that tenacity."
Showing her younger classmates, you're never too old to start...or finish something.
