Meet the 78 years old High school graduate Ted Sams...
It was a joyfull moment for Ted Sams (78) and his family when he finally walked on stage to receive his high school diploma sixty years after he missed his 1962 graduation because of some teenage mischief and $4.80 (E3.40) overdue library fine he owed at his former school.
During his high school days, Ted and a friend were in a photography class when they were caught by the vice principal for photographing people without their consent and Ted was later suspended, leading to him missing the final exam and graduation. While he tried keeping up with his studies by attending summer school, Ted then found that he couldn't get his diploma because of the overdue library fine book.
“So I just walked away from it and said, 'Forget it',” he says.
In 2022, after much persuasion from his family Ted joined San Gabriel California High school in Los Angeles and got his high school diploma
Sams says he never expected to be back in high school 60 years later after he dropped out. He recounted how he would repeatedly complain to his children how a meagre $4.80 kept him from having a degree.
His daughter Sherry then suprised him by asking San Gabriel High in Los Angeles for a reprint of his diploma so he can attend graduation.
Luckily for him, the school hasn't thrown away the diploma and It was kept in a box, in senior archives.
In 27 May, Ted received an invitation from the school to be part of the graduation ceremony. The ceremony was attended by his wife and five children.
Even though it has been a long hard road, Ted says attaining his diploma has been a great achievement for him and the graduation was one of the highlights of his life.
“Actually, when he walked and got his diploma, every person on that stage hugged him and then the whole class applauded for him,” Sherry says.
Although the $4.80 fine hasn't been paid, Ted is now a graduate of San Gabriel High School's class of 2022.
Source: News24