You are never too old to dream or achieve what goals you set for yourself. Time and again, people from different walks of life show you how it is possible to follow your heart no matter how old you are.
And 82-year-old Mae Beale from Washington D.C. is just another example of this; if you set your mind to it, you can achieve it!
Mae Beale has been working for many years as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) in Washington, D.C. She has worked at various major hospitals in the area, Children’s National Hospital, the National Naval Center (now called the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center), and the Washington VA Medical Center Hospital.
Her most recent job was at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. While she was there, she helped plan some events which led her to realize she enjoyed doing so. And this is what prompted her to get a degree in Business Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC).
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The season medical professional said, “My supervisors thought I had something special.” She added, “When I was working at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, I organized some large events and everybody was impressed with it, so I started coordinating their IT information conferences.”
This is not the first time that Beale decided to go ahead and get a degree. In 1994, at the age of 54, she enrolled in Howard Community College. There, she earned her associate degree in Business Management.
But juggling her work and home life meant her pace was slower than most students. She said, “I wanted to make certain I had the time to devote to whichever class I was taking.” She added, “I was like the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race.”
And in her late seventies, the seasoned nurse began working on her Bachelor of Science in Business Management, a decision which surprised a lot of people.
While most people her age like to relax the Maryland native wanted to challenge herself. She said, “I discovered that I had to be intentional about it and make it my priority.”
Alongside her degree, she also opened her own event-planning business called ‘In Grand Style.’ She wanted to equip herself with real-life experience with a business alongside getting theoretical information about it.
Apart from her academic, personal, and professional life she also found time to give back to her community through volunteering. She engaged in activism, civic engagement, and volunteering.
She made sure to only take one class at a time in order to make sure she was able to give it her full attention. She could have gone on without a degree and still gotten jobs in event planning however, she had her sight set on the long term. She said, “I knew that if I had the degree, it would solidify things and make me feel more comfortable.”
Her hard work and determination paid off as she had made the Dean’s List several times and also was the oldest person graduating in her class. During her time at UMGC, she also served on the UMGC Student Advisory Council.
Even after she graduated she served as an ex-officio member until December 2020. In January 2021, she was given the volunteer of the month award.
She finished her degree in 2020 but the 82-year-old did not have a graduation ceremony until much later because of the lockdown caused by the pandemic. She only recently attended a ceremony with 3,300 other graduates from the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022.
She retired as an LPN years ago but still keeps busy with event planning work. She is an activist and event planner for local businesses and organizations.
She has been bestowed with several honors and awards in her lifetime. In 2016, she has inducted into the Howard County Women’s Hall of Fame. Several months after that she was given the Associated Black Charities’ 2016 Women on the Move Award.
All in all, she is a tremendous woman and really has shown everyone around the world that age is truly just a number. Share this article with others to inspire them about achieving their goals in life.
