Senior year: 73-year-old Nova Scotia man says its never too late to graduate from college

SYDNEY, N.S. -

A Nova Scotia man is living proof that it's never too late to make the grade.

Barry Hill is one of Nova Scotia's most recent graduates, and, at age 73, he's also one of the province’s oldest.

The Sydney, N.S.-native who now lives in Truro, says it was a thrill when he graduated from the Academy of Learning Career College in Halifax in May.

"I can't get over the fact that this old brain pulled an 88 per cent average," Hill told CTV Atlantic.

Hill’s time in high school more than fifty years ago didn't go as well.

"If I pulled a 50, I was excited," he said.

Hill went to Riverview Rural High School in Coxheath, N.S., graduating in the1960s, though he says it was a struggle. He had to repeat Grade 11.

Hill's father passed away when he was in Grade 9, but he remembers a comment his dad made that summed up his study habits.

"I'd lay on a bench overlooking Sydney River and put my books on my chest, and I'd fall asleep. He'd say I used to learn by osmosis”, Hill said.

Despite his struggles in high school, Hill went on to a long career in sales.

After starting his own business in 1998, he wanted to brush up on his computer and accounting skills.

So a year later he enrolled in the Academy of Learning Career College, where he recently received a diploma in business administration.

"It was a great experience, and it was an experience that I'd recommend to any senior”, Hill said.

The father of three, stepfather of two, and grandfather of seven says it's an understatement that his second time around in school was better than the first.

When graduation day came and he put on his cap and gown, he says it was one of his proudest moments.

"I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. My ears were hurting because my lips were bumping into my ears," Hill recalls.

Since then, congratulations have been pouring in from family and friends all over the world.

When asked what advice he would have for others if he was to give a valedictory speech, Hill offered some inspiring words.

"(It’s) never too late, never too late, and that's the word that I'm getting from most everybody," he said.