It’s never too late to live out your dreams. It may take some time, a lot of work, and a huge support system cheering you on, but it can be done if you never give up.

That all proved true for a 70-year-old woman in Michigan who recently earned her high school degree.

“I used to pray so hard and say, 'God keep your hand on my shoulder,'” said Hermelinda Sporea.

As a little girl growing into her own, she would also ask God to keep her on the right path.

“I struggled in my young years, badly, horrible, bad childhood,” she said reflectively.

You see, like for so many people, Sporea did not have it easy. Though, she offers no excuses for the decisions she made way back when.

“I was just tired of walking to school, going home, going to work, it was just hard. And I told my mom, 'I don’t want to go to school anymore.' She said, 'you don’t have to, just drop out.' Then I regretted it because that was the wrong thing to do,” said Sporea as she thought back.

Those moments are etched in her memory and in every part of her, although she went on to get married, raise a beautiful family, own her own business, and gain knowledge in amazing ways.

But there was always something missing.

“That was the last thing I wanted to succeed with was to get my high school diploma," Sporea said.

So, one of her daughters helped her enroll at Utica Community Schools. It was a 4-year commitment and 22 credits later, Sporea made it happen.

“I was like, oh lord, yes, yes. I tell my husband, 'I can’t believe, I finished. I just did it. I graduated. I’m just happy. I finally got what I wanted,'” she said.

This story was originally published by Andrea Isom at WXYZ.