90-year-old Great-Grandma Graduates at NIU

Joyce DeFauw enrolled at the campus in 1951, when it was previously referred to as the Northern Illinois State Teachers College. Joyce thought she would earn a teaching degree and be the first in her family to attend college. Then, she altered her major to home economics. She attended the college for three and a half years and was a member of the bowling team.

 

One day, she fell in love with a guy she met at church, and the couple later got married. As a result, Joyce quit school and life became very hectic for her and her first husband, the late Don Freeman Sr. Joyce had three children before her first husband's death. Then, she spent five years as a widow before marrying her second husband, the late Roy DeFauw. The couple had six children together, including two sets of twins.

 

Seven decades later, Joyce transferred to a retirement home and gained access to a computer. She had continued pursuing her degree when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. She described how the isolation and struggles with studying were often challenging for her. "A lot of times I would have quit. I almost did," Joyce said. "There were just too many people who knew about it. I didn't want to let them down. I quit once and I was like, 'I don't want to do it again.'"

 

Financial issues risked bringing her academic journey to an end at one moment. However, Joyce was capable of continuing on after being awarded a Project Finish Line Scholarship, which helps students encountering financial hardships in their final semester finish their degree.

 

Joyce DeFauw has seventeen grandkids and twenty-four great-grandkids. Her family members were the ones who motivated Joyce to return to college. Before the commencement ceremony, she expressed excitement and only shared one concern: that she hopes she doesn’t fall.