BANGOR — A 99-year-old Maine woman is celebrating her graduation from college 75 years after a $5 transcript fee kept her from getting her diploma on time.

Beal College in Bangor awarded Jessie White her degree during a special ceremony hosted by Alan Stehle, the college’s president.

White told ABC News the special ceremony was wonderful and a lot of fun.

White was supposed to graduate in 1939, but couldn’t afford the fee. A friend who learned of her plight years later called Stehle, who paid her balance and set up the ceremony.

White, a Maine native, received her degree in stenography and bookkeeping.


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