Hortense Anglin graduates from university at age 85

November 10, 2022

In their 70s, sisters Osra Lindo and Hortense Anglin planned to attend university for the first time.

They completed the 13-week academic bridging program for women seeking to upgrade their writing and speaking skills and explore the possibility of university study.

Lindo finished her undergraduate degree four years ago at age 79, but Anglin had to put the pursuit of higher education on hold after her husband fell ill in 2012.

When he died two years later, she embarked on the post-secondary journey after a lengthy grieving period. They were married for 52 years.

“It took me two years to come to grips with the fact I had to run the house on my own,” said the mother of two children ages 60 and 56. “It took me a little while to figure out how to pay the bills, to whom I was paying them and why I was paying them”

Just six weeks after turning 85 on August 31, Anglin graduated with a degree in Religious Studies from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

She was the oldest graduate during the Fall 2022 convocation.

In 2017, Anglin started Gender, Sexuality and Women’s studies.

After two courses, she switched programs.

“Religious Studies kept calling me,” said Anglin. “It has nothing to do with theology and I will not be preaching anytime soon.  It is an academic study of religion and whatever the phenomena is between religion, religious culture, sociology, philosophy and why do people turn to spirituality regardless of their culture to maybe just imbue themselves with some knowledge on the impact of religion and religious study on their life.”

Midway through the program, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and the world came to a standstill.

Forced to study with Zoom online was challenging for Anglin in the beginning.

Students experiencing issues downloading course material were asked to contact askit@yorku.ca for assistance.

“That department was really significant in grooming me to learn how to do Zoom,” said Anglin who left Jamaica in 1978 with her family and spent 25 years with Mercer Canada which is a human resource management firm. “If I went on the computer and didn’t get my required course, I emailed ‘askit’ and requested help. The response was always timely for the entire duration of my program.”

Hortense Anglin (r) & younger sister Osra Lindo (Photo contributed)

Returning to the classroom after nearly five decades, said Anglin, was a wonderful experience.

“After my husband passed away, I had nothing to do,” the octogenarian added. “I am not an avid TV watcher. I enjoy watching sports activities. I told my sister I might just go to the library and read and she suggested I come to York and do so. Seeing that I had already being offered admission, I did exactly that. After I got over my husband’s death to a certain extent, I entered the degree program with a clear head.”

Anglin is not finished pursuing higher education. She has signed up to do an anthropology course this fall.

Maybe, a graduate degree might be on the cards down the road.