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• It's never too late to graduate, and Fred Allen Smalls of Georgetown, South Carolina, is proof.
Smalls took the stage at Georgetown High School, the day before his 106th birthday, to receive an honorary diploma at a ceremony that came to fruition largely due to the efforts of his granddaughter.
Smalls completed eighth grade in the 1930s and moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a janitor and held several other jobs before beginning a career with the District of Columbia, eventually retiring during the John F. Kennedy administration.
WPDE ABC 15 reported that the diploma was "something he's wished for most of his life." And the diploma wasn't the first time Smalls made recent news: In 2023, ABC News recognized him as the oldest Philadelphia Eagles fan. ABC 15 [ABC15, 2/20/2024]