John Shirley graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington decades after his first attempt at college.
When the held its commencement ceremony on Friday, one of the graduates stood out.
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WATCH HERE"Most of my classmates are in their 20s or 30s," John Shirley said. "And I'm above 60!"
Most of Mr. Shirley's classmates aren't Navy veterans. Most of them did not live in a homeless shelter while battling colon cancer, or sleep in their car.
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SIGN UP "This is the Maverick Garage," Shirley said, pointing across the street to a concrete parking structure. "Where, at one time, I spent a month living in my car."
Shirley would walk across the street to the Business College for his classes.
"Mr. Shirley is a student of mine," UTA Senior Lecturer Steve Isbell said, adding that Mr. Shirley sat in the front row and impressed him from the start.
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"Let's face it, people can come up with all kinds of ideas why they can't do something, and truth be told, those are irrelevant," Isbell said. "Because what matters is that one reason you are going to do something."
"I wanted to have a better life for myself," Shirley said. "I felt better about me as who I am, and I've always been the type of person that never wanted to stop and never wanted to quit."
Mr. Shirley did not quit. On Friday, he walked the stage to get his Bachelor of Business Administration in Real Estate.
"Sometimes you gotta reach within yourself to make the better person of yourself," Shirley said. "And nobody can do that but yourself."
"I think that's something that students, or anyone watching this, anyone on the planet can learn from," Isbell said. "Because there were some obstacles put in his way, more than his fair share, and he's made it through.
"I know that I've done the best that I could have done," Shirley said. "And I'm proud of the fact, what I have done."
