Merrill Pittman Cooper, an African American man from Jefferson County, West Virginia, has earned his high school diploma at 101-years old, finally making his lifelong dream come true.
From 1934 to 1938, Cooper was a student at Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, a school that admits newly freed slaves during the Civil War. He studied Latin, biology, history, English, and mathematics.
However, he was forced to drop out during his senior year when his family had to move to Philadelphia due to financial reasons.