Nola Ochs

“With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.” [Psalm 91:16]

Nola Ochs was born November 22, 1911, and is an American college graduate. Nothing seems amazing about this – until you learn that she graduated from Fort Hays State University in Kansas on May 14, 2007. When you put the math together, you will discover that she received her degree at the age of 95, making her a Guinness World Record holder as the world’s oldest college graduate! She graduated alongside her granddaughter, Alexandra Ochs, who was 21 years old at the time. Nola earned a general studies degree with an emphasis in history. Governor Kathleen Sebelius presented her diploma.

Nola somehow got sidetracked in life from completing studies she began in 1930. Seventy-seven years later she went back to school and completed her bachelor’s degree. But wait! After taking time to help with the family’s wheat harvest, Nola started pursuing her master’s degree in liberal studies in August 2007. She received her master’s on May 15, 2010, making her the oldest recipient of a master’s degree at age 98!

Nola once told a news reporter, while she was back in school, that when she graduated she wanted to be a storyteller on a cruise ship. After graduation, Princess Cruises hired her to be a guest lecturer on a nine-day Caribbean cruise. She took her granddaughter along. Nola commented, “I’ve led a long, interesting life. We went through the dust storms. We had some difficult times in our marriage, financially. But it’s been the Lord’s will that I’ve lived this long life, and I thank Him kindly for it.” She is especially proud to be the matriarch of a family that has included four sons, 13 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

David’s famous Psalm 91, which describes the safety of abiding in the presence of God, teaches us to honor God. “Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you” (Psalm 91:9,10). Though difficulties have come into the life of Nola, she has honored the Lord for her long life. That is the best graduation present anyone could wish for!