At 79 years old, Patricia Sias Ellis has fulfilled a goal that was put on hold for decades.
According to News 19, Ellis devoted her time to her family and job after graduating from high school.
Meanwhile, her husband and son obtained degrees from Morehouse College. However, it wasn’t until a comment from her son that her interest in attending college resurfaced.
While they were watching television, her son suggested she should go to college. Although the comment may have been made as a lighthearted joke, Ellis took it seriously, enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College, and later transferred to Clayton State University on a part-time basis.
“I always knew I wasn’t finished,” Ellis explained, according to the outlet. She added, “I just kept trudging along semester after semester, just doing the work.”
Her time in college was not without its hardships. Ellis learned a 10-pound tumor was on her kidney. Yet, she continued her studies.
“She lights up the room,” said Dr. Georj Lewis, president of Clayton State University, per the outlet. “When she crosses that stage, everyone is probably going to stand up. Because she’s hard not to know.”
As of May 2025, Ellis is officially a graduate of the Clayton State University. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Looking ahead, Ellis is open to where her next steps will lead her, even if that is a master’s degree.
“These experiences I should have had at 19 or 20 years old, they are the same at 79 years old,” she expressed, according to News 19. “I’ve had the best time.”
Her story is similar to Gloria Stowers, a 70-year-old who graduated from Georgia’s Kennesaw State University in 2024, AFROTECH™ previously reported.
“I wanted to get away from the generation of my family being uneducated to being educated,” Stowers reflected, according to Fox 5 in Atlanta, GA. “Because being educated can give you opportunities in life. It makes the road that much easier. It gives you options you don’t even know of until you go.”
