MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY -- Choosing a major is often a nerve-wracking decision for college hopefuls. For Moe Blatt of Scranton though, it was easy: history.
Because, as he says it, he lived through most of it.
"I came to Marywood expecting to go on my G.I. Bill, but they told me it expired about 35 years ago!" Blatt said.
That was the first minor hiccup in what's become a decade-long college career at Marywood University.
Newswatch 16 visited Moe just before his final final exam. Most of his classmates are 18. Moe will be 80 in a few weeks.
"At first, I thought that was going to be my biggest resistance here, the students saying, 'what is this old man doing here?'" he said.
But that hasn't been the case, Moe said the students who are the same age as his grandchildren have always been accepting and kind.
Moe suffers from Dyslexia, one of the reasons he never went to college in his younger years. He said he was also too busy building a life. Which includes a long-standing small business in Scranton, 58 years of marriage to his wife Harlean, 3 children, 18 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren.
They never expected that life would lead Moe to a bachelor's degree.
"I think it was his dream, and we were married young and he was always working and he couldn't follow it then. When he said he wanted to go back to school I said, 'go ahead, go ahead, I'm behind you.' Little did I know it was going to be 10 years! But, it's been a great journey," said Harlean Blatt.
A journey that lead Moe and his family to Marywood's commencement. Sitting amongst the much younger faces in the crowd, he stood out. But his goals are just the same.
With his degree, Moe wants to counsel kids that are like him - told they aren't smart enough.
But, his wife says that same message goes for people their age, too.
"There's nothing you can't do today if you want to do it. And Moe proved that," Harlean said.