Great-Grandmother to Graduate College at 95: Oldest Grad Ever

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Nola Ochs has lived through most major developments in 20th-century America: The roaring ‘20s, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, two World Wars, the technology age. But one thing she never expected will be happening next month at Fort Hays State University in Kansas: she’s graduating college at age 95.

Ochs told reporters, "That yearning for study was still there. I came here with no thought of it being an unusual thing at all. It gave me a feeling of satisfaction. I like to study and learn."

Ochs first began taking courses at a local community college in 1972, when her husband Vernon died. She kept taking a class here and a class there, and her credits started to add up. When she had almost enough to complete a degree, she moved to the campus of Fort Hays State. An added bonus: her granddaughter Alexandra, is also attending the university and will graduate with her this spring.

The 5’ 2" great-grandmother feels right at home here. The students, she says, treat her like any other undergraduate. Professors who had initial concerns about her abilities have long since discarded such thoughts, and appreciate her presence in their classes as a living part of the American story. "She often adds color to the face of history," reports professor Todd Leahy. "To have Nola in class adds a dynamic that can’t be topped."

Ochs has the ability to make history come alive for her fellow students, having lived through it. She has shared stories of growing soybeans during World War II on the farm she shared with her husband, and of living through the Dust Bowl, when families had to light lamps during daylight hours because it was so dark from the dust storms.

With her latest accomplishment, Ochs will break the Guinness Book’s record for oldest person to graduate college, besting the previous record held by Mozelle Richardson, who received her journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma in 2004 when she was 90.

Adds Ochs, "I don’t dwell on my age…as long as I have my mind and health, it’s just a number."

Born in 1912, Ochs grew up on a farm in Kansas, and says she always loved learning. After high school, she became a teacher at a one-room schoolhouse, before leaving the profession to be a wife and mother on her own farm. She had four sons, and now has 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. She told reporters, "They’re all such fine boys. Our main crop is our children, and the farm is a good place to raise them."

With a twinkle in her eye, she informs reporters that her next plan after college is to get a job on a cruise ship, telling stories.

And while she has been enjoying all of the recent attention, Ochs says she is still the same farm grandmother from Kansas. "It brings attention to the college and to this part of the state. Good people live here…and I still wear the same size hat."