At 70, Michigan grandmother adds a new title, 'Graduate'

The reasons Melinda Sporea did not earn a high school diploma were numerous.

There was no time. She was married, had a family of five to raise and ran her own hair salon. Sporea was not a good fit with the younger students who had some high school credits, while she had zero. Sporea had tried three adult-education programs but found the coursework too challenging. Embarrassed, she gave up.

Yet the desire to finish high school never left Sporea, who watched children and grandchildren graduate. It nagged until 2016, when she enrolled again — this time in an adult-ed program at Utica Community Schools — to begin the arduous journey toward a high school diploma.

On June 6, at 70, she reached her long-sought goal of becoming a high school graduate, joining the Macomb County (Michigan) district's Class of 2021.

To get it done, Sporea attended class four afternoons a week, tackling a full four-year curriculum of math and English, biology and social studies, financial literacy and international history. There were tears over math problems, late nights studying for tests, and essays to write on subjects she was learning for the first time.

Even the pandemic, which closed Sporea's school in March of her third year and her entire "senior" year, could not stop the Warren grandmother from getting her diploma.

Her story is one of rigor, grit and resilience, going back again and again to her belief that education is vitally important. "I had to teach my kids what was best," Sporea said. "You need your education. Reach your goal. Don't stop."

Inspiration to others

Sporea's perseverance has inspired her teachers, her husband, her children and anyone else who knows her, and stood witness to the difficult journey of an older adult completing a high school education.

"I am so proud of her. I would come over and she always updated me on what she was learning, and that was really cool for her to share that with me," daughter Krystal Andrzejewski said. "She loves learning, and it's inspiring because it is very rare for someone at this age to take a four-year course and finish it."

Sporea recalled how the first day of class drove her to tears.

"They had chalkboards, and you had to do your math problem on them. You had to show her to see if it was correct," she said. "I never did this kind of math in my life. I lifted it up and burst out crying. I said: 'I don't belong here. What am I doing here?'"

Then she started thinking. "This has been my goal forever. I have grandkids. ... I gotta do it no matter what," Sporea said.

Sporea's childhood was not easy. Her father died when she was 2. She lived with her mother and two siblings, attending school but also working at a grocery store in southwest Detroit that became a full-time job. Around eighth grade, Sporea's mother let her stop school.

Later, she met Ted Sporea, "her prince charming," got married and had five children. She attended the Katrina College of Beauty while raising three kids, getting a cosmetology certificate in 1987. She had two more children, worked for other hair salons and soon started her own business, Melinda's Unisex Hair Magic in Warren.

At the adult-ed school she attended in the 1990s, other students threw things behind her head during class. She could not concentrate and left.

When she went back in 2016, she made note cards to study and hit the books every night, declining social invitations from family so she couldto study. There were tough days, but Sporea said she never thought about giving up.

"I wanted to learn things," Sporea said. "I would tell my daughter, 'I never knew this and I am so happy I know about this now.' How the world was, the rocks, the environmental science."

Ted, 72, a retired machine repair tech, says school was a challenge for his wife. "School-wise, I could not help much," he said. "She basically did it on her own."

Once her studies got underway at Utica, Sporea developed confidence and began to help other students with their schoolwork, including math.

"I felt like all the students were my kids. I loved them to pieces," Sporea said.

She said she enjoyed learning remotely during the pandemic despite the challenges. "I just wanted to finish," Sporea said.

'So proud of her'

Oldest daughter Elizabetha Sancen, who worked for the district as an assistant for adult students learning English in the building where her mom attended classes, is the one who got her mom to try again. "I told her I would pay for her registration fee," Sancen said. "That motivated her."

The classes were never easy, Sancen said, but her mother attended even if she didn't feel well. "It was very challenging for her. It took a lot of studying before and after school," she said.

On the bad days, Sporea would tell her daughter school was too much. Sancen would tell her mom, who used to pick cotton for work, to come see her and they would talk it over.

Four years later, her mother has reached her goal, and Sancen is grateful to have watched her do it.

"I am so proud of her I feel like my own kid is graduating," she said. "It gets me choked up to see her in her cap and gown."

C.J. Wajeeh, director of Community Education for UCS, said about 10% of students attending adult-education completion class drop out. Sporea missed only two days.

Wajeeh said Sporea struggled with returning to school. "She said, 'I am so old. They are going to laugh at me,' " Wajeeh said. "It was building her up: 'You can do this. We will support you to get you through.' "

Over time Sporea's confidence grew, Wajeeh said. Her leadership skills won her membership in the National Honor Society for Adult Education.

"Other students came in, they were apprehensive. They asked, 'Should I be here?' They would say, 'this is too hard.' She would encourage them," Wajeeh said.

To watch Sporea grow and reach her goal was emotional for Wajeeh and the staff. "She never felt complete without the high school diploma," Wajeeh said. "To watch her really bloom, to help someone achieve the one last thing they want to do is amazing."

Asked what's next for her, Sporea said she will return to her favorite hobby, crocheting, and possibly write a book about her life. Community college could be in her future, she says.

What advice would Sporea give others in the same position?: " 'Go for it. It's never too late.' "