Linwood Riddick, who turns 80 on Monday, accepts his bachelor’s diploma at South Carolina State College on Friday Might ninth.
Sam Watson/South Carolina State College
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Sam Watson/South Carolina State College
Linwood Riddick went to Vietnam to serve within the army, at an age when many individuals select to go to school. As a substitute, he pursued his school diploma when many are busy having fun with retirement.
On Friday, Riddick graduated from South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, S.C., two days earlier than his eightieth birthday, the varsity stated in a information launch. He got here out of retirement to get his school schooling.
After his army service, the Vietnam Battle veteran opened his personal enterprise promoting souvenirs for 3 a long time, and retired at age 72. However quickly after, he overheard a dialog whereas passing by means of SC State that impressed him to enroll on the school.
“I heard some males discuss concerning the Orangeburg Bloodbath,” he advised Sam Watson, SC State’s director of college relations, who wrote a publish about Riddick’s achievement. The Orangeburg Bloodbath is a 1968 occasion when police shot right into a crowd of SC State college students who had been protesting segregation, injuring greater than two dozen of them and killing three. All 9 officers concerned had been acquitted, in keeping with The Civil Rights Path web site.
Riddick stated it was solely after studying about that historical past that he determined, “I will have to come back right here, put my identify on this institutional wall due to the sacrifice of those three males.”
At Friday’s graduation, Riddick was honored even earlier than crossing the stage. SC State President Alexander Conyers briefly paused the ceremony to acknowledge him within the again row of the varsity’s live performance choir, with which he is carried out for years.
“Mr. Riddick, you encourage us all,” Conyers stated, additionally noting that the 79-year-old drove an hour on daily basis from his dwelling in Summerville, S.C., to Orangeburg to attend lessons.
Later, the group gave Riddick a rousing ovation as he accepted his diploma. He earned a bachelor’s diploma in music trade.
Riddick stated school helped him keep sharp. “Your thoughts, your physique, your soul and spirit — they should be utilized,” he advised Watson. Now, he stated, he hopes to be an inspiration for others, and a mentor for youthful college students.
“If I can do it, you are able to do it,” he stated. “It isn’t inconceivable for those who attempt.”
