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Louisiana mom of 5 will graduate from Grambling, walk with son

GRAMBLING, La. — A Louisiana mother of five is finishing what she started 27 years ago -- getting her college degree.

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Tyra Muhammad, 46, will be graduating from Grambling State University this week. She will receive her bachelor’s degree in nursing after carrying a 4.0 average, KTVE reported. One of her sons will also be graduating this week at the university, and her daughter received her diploma in May, the television station reported.

Muhammad said she first attended college in 1993. When she was 19, she got married and started a family. Then, she became ill and was unable to attend as many classes.

“We moved to New Orleans, there I went to nursing school,” Muhammad told KTVE. “I was in the CNA program, (a) certified nursing assistant.”

Muhammad said her family moved several times, and after giving birth to her second child, she dropped out while her husband returned to school.

“Every time I thought of coming back, I kind of put it off, because I wanted to make sure my family was taken care of,” Muhammad told KTVE. “I’m a mother of 5, so I wanted to take care of my husband at that time, my children.”

When she and her husband divorced, Muhammad decided to pursue her bachelor’s degree. At the age of 44, she enrolled at Grambling and has excelled in her classes.

“So I’ve been back,” Muhammad told KTVE. “Every semester I have either been on the President’s List or the dean’s list, so that was an accomplishment for me.”

“I’m proud of myself because I was able to maintain an ‘A’ average throughout the time that I’ve been back and that in itself is a huge accomplishment for me,” Muhammad told the television station. “I like that as an example for my children.”

Muhammad said it is never too late to follow your dreams.

“Don’t stop,” she told KTVE. “Don’t let anything get in their way, not even time, because like I said, I’m 46 and I came back to school at the age of 44 and I’m graduating in a few days.”

Muhammad is not done yet. She plans to attend graduate school during the spring semester and will return to Grambling along with her daughter, the television station reported.