This week, 96-year-old, Giuseppe Paternò, graduated with first-class honours from his degree in philosophy from the University of Palermo.
There were many obstacles in Paternò’s way. He was the eldest of seven children growing up through the Great Depression in the 1930s, so he started working with his father in a brewery when he was a child. When he was still a teenager, World War II started, and following the war he took up a job with the state railway service to provide for his young family.
Despite these challenges, Paternò was determined to gain an education, and by way of night classes, he successfully graduated from high school as a surveyor at 31.
Fast-forward half a decade past retirement, theology courses, and a published autobiography, Paternò eventually enrolled at the University of Palermo in 2017 at the age of 93. And despite his age, and the setbacks he faced, he finished.
If the reward is intrinsic, it’s never too late to do what you love.