‘I feel like I’m in the prime of my life’: Woman graduates with master’s degree at 73
ORONO, Maine (WABI/Gray News) - Students at the University of Maine are embarking on their last weeks of study for the academic year.
Among them is 73-year-old Jules Hathaway.
Hathaway moved to Maine in the 1980s to pursue graduate work at the University, but she put her studies on hold to raise three children with her husband.
Hathaway’s daughter, Amber Hathaway, said it was very clear she and her siblings were meant to be Black Bears at UMaine.
“Growing up, UMaine was always very familiar to me because, you know, mom was always taking us to campus like any time there were kid-friendly activities,” she said.
Amber Hathaway and her siblings all graduated with multiple degrees.
This determination flowed through all the Hathaways, and Jules Hathaway decided to go back to school.
She enrolled in the Student Development in Higher Education Program.
“There’s such a dynamic,” Jules Hathaway said. “The teaching, it’s not like the professor lecturing me and taking notes, it’s collaborative.”
She was on track to graduate in May 2024, but she suffered a stroke in 2023, which impacted her mobility and brain function.
While it took a while to gain it back, she never lost her motivation.
“I’m going to just accept that this is what it is now and what I want to be back in school,” Jules Hathaway said.
That’s exactly what she did.
She surprised the students, faculty and staff with her will to achieve and serves as an inspiration.
This is what her daughter Amber Hathaway said this pivotal moment in their lives has taught her.
“If it means a lot to you, then you can still keep going, and it kind of gives me that reminder,” Amber Hathaway said.
Despite the odds, Jules Hathaway will put on her cap and gown to receive her Master’s, the 10th UMaine degree in the family.
“I’m so happy that we are succeeding as a family, and I’m succeeding, and honestly, Sierra, I feel like I’m in the prime of my life,” Jules Hathaway said.
While preparing for graduation, Jules Hathaway has also been working on a manuscript from her stroke experience to help educate the community.
Copyright 2025 WABI via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
