A law degree at age 75: Joan says 'it’s never too late'

More than 60 years after leaving school at age 13, Joan Oliver fulfilled a life-long dream to go to university, graduating with a law degree at the age of 75.

Her journey at Victoria University started when she became the state’s oldest high school graduate at age 70, and finished in 2021 with a Bachelor of Laws.  

Life-long dream was study

Joan’s mother took her out of school early because like many people of that era, she believed school was only for boys. Joan went to work at a “noisy, dirty and boring” factory covering buttons on dressing gowns. 

But she knew there was more to life. She studied shorthand and typing at night school, leading to a long career of clerical work, punctuated by marriage and two sons.

“My retirement plan was to play a lot of golf, but a neck injury put a stop to that. I always wanted to do more with my education and I thought, ‘why not go back to school?’

VU is one of the only universities to offer the adult Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). I was terrified when I enrolled since the next oldest student to me was about 20.

But I soon felt at home. Studying with younger people is wonderful. I learned from them. They learned from me. 

I came top of my class in English, and received a VU Achievement Scholarship. I started in criminal justice but one of my teachers convinced me to transfer to law.

Studying law aligned with my interest in social justice. I’m particularly interested in the holocaust. I travelled to Eastern Europe in 2018 and visited Auschwitz. It was horrible, but I had to do it.

My husband died when I had only one unit left and I wasn’t sure what to do. But between his passing and the funeral, I did the exam. I expected just to scrape through, but I got a distinction. I plan to use my degree as a volunteer at a legal centre.”