![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Gretlyn-Joseph-1024x683.jpg\")
Despite having a little self-doubt, Joseph heeded the words and advice of her former counselor and enrolled at the University in the Fall of 2014 at the age of 66. \u201cI decided to major in Communication because I enjoyed writing and reciting poems and writing letters and short stories.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With her mind now fixed on earning her bachelor\u2019s degree, Joseph rose up faithfully each morning to catch public transportation in order to attend her classes. \u201cI remember many times being dropped off at the entrance of UVI and having to walk that long road with my books,\u201d said Joseph. \u201cIt was really difficult having to do that especially at my age, but I always told myself that I am going to make it, I am not going to drop out, and I am going to go all the way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am honestly grateful that I decided to give UVI a try, because now I feel as though I am a new and improved Gretlyn Jannette Joseph,\u201d she says.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n In addition to taking classes at UVI, Joseph, with help from her sisters, also took on the full care of her mother, who is currently 100 years old. \u201cIt was really a lot having to balance taking classes and care for my mother, but my mother really motivated me to finish school because she instilled in my siblings and I the importance of hard work. Every morning when I left for school, she gave me a word of encouragement and always told me to do my very best.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although Joseph started each day with words of encouragement and support from her loved ones, there were moments where she did feel intimidated having to take classes with students that were much younger than her. \u201cWhen I first started UVI, I did feel intimidated, because it was a lot at times having to keep up with the pace of my younger classmates, but I didn\u2019t allow that to get to me,\u201d said Joseph. \u201cI knew why I was there, so I did what I had to do.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am honestly grateful that I decided to give UVI a try, because now I feel as though I am a new and improved Gretlyn Jannette Joseph,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She thanks her advisor Dr. Sharon Honore and Dr. Chenzira Kahina for their mentorship, support and guidance throughout her time at UVI. Joseph is looking forward to walking across the stage on Friday with her daughter and family members cheering her on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want my story to encourage others to not sit back and allow others to dampen your dreams because of your age. Earning my degree clearly did not happen overnight, it took some time,\u201d says Joseph. \u201cIf you have a dream, go after it and put your all into it. Although Joseph did encounter challenges while working towards earning her degree, she stated that, \u201cfailure is inevitable, but it is not the end of your story.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAge is just a number,\u201d this is the motto that Gretlyn Jannette Joseph is living by. On Friday, May 13, on the Albert A. Sheen Campus in St. Croix, Joseph earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication at the age of 74. Joseph, a native of Antigua, set sail to earning her college degree in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DSC04477-1024x490.jpg\")