Nearly 90 years after she would have graduated from high school , a 103-year-old Wisconsin woman finally got her diploma . Marie Hunt of Spring Green , Wisconsin , had to drop out of school after completing eighth grade when she found herself unable to get to her local high school , which was located six miles away from her home . Now a resident at Meadows Assisted Living and Memory Care in Spring Green , the centenarian was presented with an honorary degree by River Valley High School , 87 years after her fellow classmates graduated . Never too late : 103-year-old Marie Hunt received an honorary high school diploma 87 years after she would have graduated . ' I was born in 1911 , and there was no way that country kids six miles away could go to high school , ' she said , adding that instead she stayed at home and helped to take care of her eight younger siblings . When she expressed that she always regretted not graduating , her hospice nurse contacted the local high school to see if they could make Ms. Hunt 's dreams come true . 'It 's something I always wanted , and I did n't have the opportunity to go . And now , a hundred years later , here I am , ' she told ABC 's WKOW on her graduation day , 87 years after her classmates graduated in 1928 . Interrupted education : Unable to get to her high school six miles away , Ms. Hunt dropped out and helped to care for her eight younger brothers and sisters . A different time : Born in 1911 , Ms. Hunt did n't have easy access to transportation to commute to school . Friends , family , and fellow residents at her assisted living center were on hand to watch her walk in her black cap and gown as the traditional graduation song 'Pomp and Circumstance ' played . River Valley High School 's principal , the school board president and the district 's superintendent were also in attendance to award the school 's first honorary degree of its kind ; before giving one to Ms. Hunt , the school had only ever issued honorary degrees to veterans . 'It is my great honor , as a high school principal , to be presenting you with your honorary high school diploma , ' principal Kimbert Kaukl told her during the ceremony . School of life : Ms. Hunt was presented with a diploma after her hospice nurse contacted the local high school . Ceremonial rituals : Supportive friends and family laughed and applauded as Ms. Hunt moved the tassel on her graduation cap from the right to the left sides , signifying that she had graduated . Ms. Hunt , who has lived in Spring Green her whole life , did not share whether she had designs on higher education , but she did say that she 'might have been college material , ' had she graduated when she was supposed to , as three of her siblings went on as three of her siblings went to college . For now , having her high school diploma has given Ms. Hunt plenty to be proud of . 'It says I 've had a successful life , ' she told WISC-TV Madison .
Marie Hunt of Wisconsin would have been in the class of 1928 . The fact that she was a woman and not an African American is irrelevant to this discussion. Friends and family watched as the cap-and-gown-clad centenarian walked to 'Pomp and Circumstance '