Merrill Pittman Cooper attended Storer College in West Virginia from the years 1934 to 1938. Forced to drop out of school just before graduation to help support his mother, the one-hundred-one-year-old man always regretted not getting his diploma.

🎓 Congrats to the grad... His alma mater closed in the mid 1950's but is now a part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Upon visiting the school in 2018, Merrill and his family made it their mission to get him his long awaited graduation. 

• Finally, 80 years after his time at school, Merrill was awarded an official honorary diploma from Jefferson County Schools. 

💬 What they're saying: "Jefferson County Schools is committed to helping every student, young or old, fulfill their dreams,” according to Superintendent Bondy Shay Gibson-Learn. “For Mr. Cooper, that meant receiving a high school diploma. We are honored to help make that dream a reality."