‘Go forward when you can’: 101-year-old woman enrolls at BYU-Idaho

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL.com) — Henry Ford was 45 when he created the revolutionary Model T car. Betty White was 51 when she became a TV icon. Harland “Colonel” Sanders was 62 when he franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken. Helen Holland turned 101 on Wednesday and just enrolled in school at BYU-Idaho.

A mother of four, grandmother of 17 and great-grandmother of 54, Holland said it’s never too late to achieve goals.

Holland started school at BYU in Provo in 1939, supported by her parents. She attended until 1941, when her parents couldn’t afford to keep her in school anymore, so she got a job at Hill Air Force Base on Nov. 4, 1941. A little more than a month later, the U.S. joined World War II.

Holland watched her granddaughter, Bonnie Holland, 45, graduate with a master’s degree in April. Helen Holland had always wanted to finish the education she started in 1939, and after talking with her daughter and watching her granddaughter graduate, she decided to go back to school.

“If there’s a possibility of getting your education, go forward when you can. … Stay in school as long as you can,” Helen Holland said.

After a couple of attempts to access her archived credits, an employee at BYU was able to find Helen Holland’s old transcripts. She will continue her associate’s degree in January, but in the meantime, the school is organizing which classes she needs to take — the classes on her transcript are no longer offered, so staff members are trying to work something out with equivalent credits.

Bonnie Holland said she feels the most inspiring part about her grandma’s decision to go back to school is that it is simply out of the desire to do something she’s always wanted to do.

“It’s not like she’s gonna go out in the job market and compete for a job — that’s not even the principle. … Her (purpose) is that this is something (she’s) always wanted to do, and it has seemed impossible, and it has been hard. But now it’s her time to shine and her time to go get that!” Bonnie Holland said.

Helen Holland said she feels this is as good a time as any to go back to school because she has the time and resources.

“(Education) instills so much in your life. That’s important to me. (I have) my wonderful family and good friends, and we live in a wonderful world. So we have to appreciate everything that we have each and every day, because we’re given so many blessings,” Helen Holland said.

Helen Holland’s kids and grandkids said she is the biggest BYU fan. She knows all the songs and cheers and loves to watch the football games. Helen Holland is hoping to see a BYU victory at the game this Saturday.