Giuseppe Paternò set his sights on obtaining a university education as a child growing up in Sicily in the 1930s. Poverty, war and supporting a family got in the way. Now, at 96, he has achieved his goal, becoming Italy’s oldest graduate in the process.
“I’ve finally realised my dream,” the former railway worker and second world war veteran said this week, after graduating with a degree in philosophy from the University of Palermo.
“Being able to study has always been my greatest aspiration, but my family wasn’t able to pay for my education. We were a large family and very poor.”
Paternò, the eldest of seven siblings, started working as a child, when he helped his father with his job at a brewery in Palermo. In July 1943, when the allied forces landed in Sicily, Paternò was working as a telegrapher for the Italian army in Trapani.
“I came out unscathed from the war and took a job working for the state railway service. I wasn’t enthused about my job, but I knew I had to do it because by that time I was married and had a family to support. At the same time, I had an overwhelming desire to dive into books and read, study and learn.”
At the age of 31, after attending evening classes, Paternò graduated from high school as a surveyor. “During the day, I’d work. In the evening I’d attend school, and at night I’d study,” he said. But his dream of earning a university degree remained elusive.
Eventually, in 2017, Paternò enrolled in the department of philosophy at the University of Palermo.
“I’d wake up at seven to study,” he said. “I’d use an old typewriter to complete my assignments. I’d rest in the afternoon and in the evening I’d study until midnight. My neighbours used to ask, ‘why all this trouble at your age?’ But they couldn’t understand the importance of reaching a dream, regardless of my age.”
Source: ‘I’ve realised my dream’: Italy’s oldest graduate top of the class at 96
