Age no barrier to 70-year-old King’s grad

Three days before her Oct. 22 graduation from King's University College in London, Ont., 70-year-old Lori Parker was approached in earnest by one of her classmates. 

The woman showed Parker a newspaper article — spotlighting an inspiring septuagenarian set to graduate at the top of her class with an Honours Specialization in sociology and a minor in psychology — and asked if she was the subject of the profile. She then relayed that she was contemplating advancing further in her academic studies and that her husband had sent along this article to consider. 

“Her husband told her ‘look at this lady,’ ” said Parker in an interview with The Catholic Register less than 48 hours before she took the stage to receive her graduation certificate. “She then asked for a selfie with me. Like can you imagine? Somebody wanted a selfie with me.” 

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Parker began her 19-year scholarly journey early in her fifth decade of life after she had already raised four children for many years as a single mother. 

After graduating from high school, Parker planned on taking a gap year before starting her undergraduate studies. Instead, she was blessed by the birth of her daughter and life took her in a different direction. 

But the mother, and now grandmother, made a promise to herself to return to the classroom one day when she was ready.

Parker first decided to enroll in the local Fanshawe College for a year of studies to learn if she could handle the course load after 33 years away from academics. The answer was a resounding yes. 

She received offers to attend both the University of Western Ontario and King’s — the latter is an affiliate of the former — and she made the choice she did because of the Catholic institution’s smaller class sizes. 

Over the next nearly two decades, she continued to work as an LCBO manager, support her family and distinguish herself as a stellar part-time student who only missed a handful of classes during all those years.

Parker cultivated strong relationships with both her instructors and her peers through the years. She shed light on why her status as a mature student was helpful in this regard.

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“It’s a bit easier, I think, for someone who has some life experience to approach professors and ask a lot of questions,” said Parker. “I always try to form a study group with whatever classmates I have, because that just helped me feel a little bit more part of each class. It works wonderfully because you can all share ideas and build a rapport.”

Parker describes herself as somebody who is not afraid to strike up a conversation with anybody. And it is evident that she knows that she is a compelling advocate for not allowing age to serve as a barrier to achieving educational dreams. 

“I (was) speaking with a security guard two, three weeks ago,” said Parker. “He didn't realize that there were opportunities to go back. He was going to look into it.”

She remarked that it would be “fantastic” if someone did read her story and decided to leap back into the classroom. She said you don’t have to take five courses at a time. One could work towards this goal “slowly and surely.” 

Parker is full of praise for the professors who made an imprint on her life, several of whom attended Western University’s 382nd Convocation ceremony which featured several other graduates from King’s.

She is also very grateful for her children and grandchildren’s support throughout the years and said it is quite special to be enrolled in studies at the same time as her children’s children.

“My oldest grandchild is my 12-year-old granddaughter and she's always kind of bragging to her friends that ‘my Grammy is top of her class,' ” said Parker with a laugh. “It’s just wonderful to see that they know that it doesn't matter how old you are, you can do it. They’ve been super inspiring to me and they will be there (for the graduation).”

Parker intends to meet with her academic advisor over the next couple of months to consider what lies ahead in her academic journey. She may go for her master's degree or pursue a double major in psychology. Taking classes on other subjects of interest, including philosophy, social justice and peace is another tantalizing possibility. 

Her desire to continue at King’s is no doubt, welcome news, considering that the president of the university college, Robert Ventresca, recently wrote her a personal note full of praise for her as an ambassador for the school. 

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Though she still has some work to do to determine what her future at King’s will look like, she knows what the convocation ceremony signifies even though this accomplishment hasn’t yet sunk in fully. 

“It’s going to be this big piece of my identity that kind of falls into place. I have a degree. Sometimes I just have to realize that I have a degree.”

(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)

A version of this article appeared in the November 01, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Age no barrier to 70-year-old King’s grad".