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LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Jerry Cole was determined to get a college degree even after dropping out of high school to enlist in the Navy during World War II at 16 years old. He'll fulfill that goal Saturday when he earns a degree in organizational leadership from Purdue University.
"If you have something in your mind that you think you would like to have done, do it," Jerry Cole told WLFI-TV (http://bit.ly/1AAhFOT ). "I don't care what your age is, do it."
Although he became a successful insurance agent, Cole, 90, said the desire to earn a degree never went away.
"I was determined that I was going to get a degree someday, and this was the place to start," he said.
He was in his 50s when he decided to enroll in an accounting class at Purdue. However, a demanding career kept him from taking more classes.
But Cole's wife, Faye, said her husband came home about four years ago and told her he had re-enrolled.
He took classes through Purdue at Ivy Tech and Purdue University's College of Technology. He earned his associate's degree in 2012 and will receive his bachelor's degree Saturday.
"Even though it may have taken me 40 years to do it, I did it, and I'm happy that I did it," Cole said.
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Information from: WLFI-TV, http://www.wlfi.com/
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