When an 18-year-old freshman student at Palo Alto College in Texas tweeted about how proud she was of her grandfather going back to college, she had no idea that the story would explode on social media.
Melanie Salazar’s tweet that went viral about her 82-year-old grandfather, Rene Neira, said: “I’m so proud of my grandpa for finishing his first day at PAC this semester! 82 years old and not giving up!!!” The touching message has already received more than 2,000 retweets.
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What makes this story even more heartwarming is that Salazar and her grandfather are attending the same college at the same time. While Neira is finishing up his last class for his associate’s degree in economics, Salazar is majoring in liberal arts.
Salazar told ABC News: “Honestly to me it feels normal that I’m going to school with my grandpa. I look at my grandpa and I’m proud of him. This is a normal thing. It feels great and I’m very proud of him.”
Melanie feels that seeing her grandfather in college has always been normal because throughout her childhood he would take classes here and there. Neira even plans on enrolling at the University of Texas at San Antonio to obtain his bachelor’s degree after he graduates from Palo Alto College in the fall.
“I don’t want to take credit for it,” Salazar stated. “It’s not my story. It’s all my grandpa’s story. I just so happen to have social media. It’s amazing that it just took off and people are inspired by this and motivated, more importantly, to get their education.”
Salazar also mentioned that her grandfather has been a source of motivation for her. “It only motivates me more not to give up and figure out what I want to study specifically,” she mentioned. “I know that if he can do it and I can definitely do it.”
Rene Neira is just further proof that it is never too late to achieve your dreams! We wish both Rene Neira and Melanie Salazar luck in all their future endeavors.
[H/T ABC News]
