“My life starts from here”: 86-year-old grandfather earns his engineering degree after years selling onions and chili peppers at a market in Mexico

“They’ll say I’m big, well, but I already have it and I know what I’m shooting at.” Fortunately, sheltered by the warmth of the family, an eighty-year-old shares with the world, especially the young, that he is an engineer.

With the title in hand and cap, Felipe Espinosa Tecuapetla smiled at the photos and videos taken of him ringing the doorbell loudly: fulfilling a dream goal.

This beautiful story took place in Mexico, at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), where the rector Lilia Cedillo Ramírez Espinosa presented a diploma, accrediting him as an Engineer in Processes and Industrial Management.

The 86-year-old man, according to El Universal, told the media that spread his example: “My life starts from here, but with different thoughts. I got to see a lot of things, but I can say it was a great experience to be here at BUAP”.

Bachelor at age 70: Josefina Chaguay’s grandson will put the hat on her at her graduation in Guayaquil

An eighty-year-old engineer

Don Felipe, as they call him, decided to study at that institution in 2016 and shared “as a student with his granddaughter”, a future public accountant, collect the aforementioned Mexican media.

You mentioned that your working life started very early. “I started working as a child.”

This man who sold onions and peppers in the market and was a farmer most of his life always loved to study

Lizeth Castro, journalist

She summed up the happiness of graduating by saying with her children: “I worked without studies, without papers, but it is not the same anymore … now that I have the diploma, it is very different.”

Don Felipe rings the BUAP bell and lets his country know that he has a new professional in it.

Life never ends for this smiling grandfather, today a colleague of one of his children. “What helps me is the will to continue studying, even if it’s great, I’ll continue.”

What’s stopping me? I hear well, I see well, I reason well, I have no empty mind

Don Felipe, quoted by Lizeth Castro

Congratulations Don Philippe

On social networks, they celebrate this academic achievement by leaving dozens of applause and the word Congratulations! :

Marco Pacheco said: “Everyone, absolutely everyone, my respects for this gentleman.”

And Lucero Carpio said, “Admirable congratulations to the new engineer, what a respect.”

No doubt this grandfather leads by example and it is very true that “it’s never too late to learn” and that “studying is great”.