At 97 years old, Jacqueline Kimmelstiel, a Holocaust survivor, fulfilled a lifelong ambition by attending college for a day—a dream that had been dashed when the Nazis invaded France during World War II. Now, almost eight decades later, thanks to a program called "Golden Wishes" by RiverSpring Living, she experienced a day at the University of Mount Saint Vincent that included poetry, French lessons, and a taste of campus life.
While she never made it past the 6th grade, as described by the New York Post, Kimmelstiel revealed, "It felt like I grew up finally." The senior facility where she resides, RiverSpring Living, played the pivotal role, turning a simple inquiry into an unprecedented event that let Kimmelstiel briefly become a college student.
According to a CBS News interview, Wendy Steinberg, RiverSpring’s chief communications officer, spoke about helping residents experience things they missed out on in their youth, explaining, "We ask them, what did you never have the chance to do?"
Jacqueline Kimmelstiel’s educational journey continued with an English Literature class where she delighted in poetry she confessed to the New York Post, wasn't always her favorite. Yet the poem read to her by Dr. Leonard Nalencz struck a chord. "I don't usually enjoy poetry this much, but this one is written beautifully and you really feel the love in the air," she shared. Her schedule also featured a French class, reconnecting her to a language she hadn't spoken regularly in years but had never forgotten.
The day was not all academics, as Kimmelstiel also became an honorary captain for a basketball scrimmage. Even though sports weren't her thing, in a humorous twist, later in the day she was recognized as an official team mascot, dubbed an "official Dolphin" by the university, according to the New York Post story. Her day culminated with a graduation ceremony where Susan Burns, the school's president, acknowledged Kimmelstiel's perseverance across the years and the fulfillment of a "dream long deferred but never extinguished" as she presented her with a Certificate of Achievement, the New York Post reported.
Education, a thread that has run through Kimmelstiel's family with both her sons becoming medical doctors and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren pursuing higher education, saw a symbolic culmination with this honor. "Having gone through the horrors of what she and our grandfather went through as Holocaust survivors, and now she has four great grandchildren and a college degree, is almost really special," Kimmelstiel's granddaughter Rebecca Kevelson articulated to CBS News.
The significance of this achievement resonated with Kimmelstiel too, who, while reflecting on the support she had received, said, "I know my late husband would be so proud," as per the New York Post.
