At Age 77, North Carolina A&T Student LaRue Moore Proves It’s Never Too Late To Earn A College Degree

LaRue Moore is proof that it’s never too late to chase your dreams.

At 77 years old, she’s pursuing a degree in African American studies at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) — the very campus where, as a young girl, she witnessed the early days of sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement in Greensboro, NC, according to WFMY News 2. In 1960, the A&T Four, four Black freshmen, had sat at a whites–only lunch counter at F.W. Woolworth’s store.

Now, Moore has returned as a witness to history and a student ready to shape her own legacy.

“I want to do it just to study, enjoy it,” Moore said, per the outlet. “I wanna be able to take my time to do it, you know, and let it be my journey here at North Carolina A&T State University to get my degree and do it my way.”

Moore attends classes online, seizing a second chance at education decades after first enrolling at North Carolina Central University. She studied there for a year and a half before life took her in another direction.

“I ended up getting married, children,” Moore said, as WFMY reported. “Then I went on to get to have a good career in what I was in my lifestyle of working with my company that I’m with now.”

Moore isn’t pursuing her degree for career advancement; she is just determined to finally finish the journey she started decades ago — diploma in hand.

Adding to the excitement, she now gets to experience homecoming, she says — not just as a longtime attendee, but as a student — after years of tailgating and celebrating with friends.

Known as the “Greatest Homecoming on Earth,” N.C. A&T’s homecoming runs Oct. 5–12, 2025, per the university’s website.

“It’s just a wonderful week,” Moore told WFMY regarding homecoming.

North Carolina A&T Continues To Grow As Top-Ranked HBCU

North Carolina A&T consistently ranks among the top 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with a strong reputation in engineering, agriculture, business, and STEM education, AFROTECH™ previously noted.

Moore’s attendance comes as the university makes history — becoming the first HBCU to enroll over 15,000 students in the fall semester that started on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the record 15,275 students represents a 6.7% increase from last year’s enrollment of 14,311.

This year’s enrollment figures mark N.C. A&T’s largest single-year enrollment jump, solidifying its position as the nation’s largest public HBCU for the 12th consecutive year. It also reigns as the largest HBCU ever for the fourth year in a row.

“This is our 12th consecutive year of growth, and we continue to be humbled and grateful for the faith that our students place in us to prepare them for lives of meaning and success,” Chancellor James R. Martin II said in a statement.

“North Carolina A&T is setting a national standard as a land-grant HBCU and model for what it means to be a public university in this new millennium.”