DALLAS — Anna Marie Pedford has been called many things… in love.
“I get called Nana, Nonny, Grandma, Granny,” the 79-year-old great-grandmother said with a laugh. “Sometimes I don’t even know my own name.”
But this week, she proudly made room for another title: college graduate. Pedford earned her degree in psychology from UNT Dallas.
“I have butterflies,” she said with a mixture of humility and pride. “I had no idea there were such great people in the world who want to see me succeed. People I don’t even know. And people here at this university, they want you to succeed.”
Pedford first stepped onto a college campus six decades ago but decided she wasn’t ready. She now admits she lacked focus, and her parents agreed when she begged to come home. A marriage, kids, and a career followed, but she kept making excuses for not going back to college. Then a colleague encouraged her to take a class. After earning her associate degree from Dallas College, she decided that dreams shouldn’t have expiration dates. Now, she’s a living lesson in courage and determination.