64-year-old California twins graduate high school after overcoming learning obstacles

Carol Baker and Carolyn Baker-Lowery failed to graduate from high school due to undiagnosed learning disabilities as kids.

A set of 64-year-old twin sisters who dropped out of high school decades ago graduated last week from MiraCosta College Community Learning Center in California, the San Diego Tribune reports.

Carol Baker and Carolyn Baker-Lowery failed to graduate from high school due to undiagnosed learning disabilities as kids. According to Fox 5 San Diego, the sisters said they felt like “lost causes” at public high school.

“They might as well have given us a book and told us to look at the pictures,” Carolyn said, the Tribune reports. “They were trying to get us to do something we didn’t understand.”

The twins grew up in the Los Angeles area, and both became teen parents while attending a continuation high school. They decided to enter the workforce as single mothers rather than finish their education, Fox 5 San Diego reports. However, the sisters never gave up on their dream of receiving a diploma.

As the Tribune reports, Carolyn attempted adult high school several times, but the academics proved too challenging. “I would get very despondent and just say forget it,” she said.

Carol was encouraged to complete her education while volunteering at a local childcare development center, Fox 5 San Diego reports. The decision came 30 years after she and Carolyn dropped out of high school. According to the Tribune, the twins suffer from attention deficit disorder and dyslexia. When Carol set her sights on MiraCosta College, the school developed a personalized success plan to help her utilize and maximize educational resources, Fox 5 San Diego reports.

Once Carol began taking Zoom sessions with her professors, she caught her sister’s attention.

“At first I thought the girl had lost her mind, but then I couldn’t let her leave me behind,” Carolyn said, according to Fox 5 San Diego. “I asked what I would need to do to get my diploma too.”

“I told her I was working on a high school diploma. She looked at me and said, ‘Not without me, you aren’t. No, that won’t happen.’ So we started taking classes together,” Carol said, the Tribune reports.

The sisters made a pact to graduate together in 2023. The dream came true when the pair walked the stage on May 25 at the MiraCosta College Adult High School graduation ceremony. Their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild attended the ceremony, according to the Tribune.

“What was so awesome was seeing all my teachers there. They made a line on both sides and shook my hand and hugged me. At the end of the line were my children,” said Carol, per the Tribune. 

“My goal was to graduate high school in front of my children and my grandchildren, so they could see it happen,” she added. 

As the twins walked across the stage, an official read a few words they had written: “On our caps are over 35 rhinestones representing our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The gold butterflies are there to give reference and honor to our mother who is no longer with us, but we know she will be proud.”

Faculty members were so impressed with the twins’ dedication and presence on stage that they nominated them for induction into the national adult education honor society.

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