World’s ‘slowest’ student finally graduates at 71 years old

“It was also close to home. It meant I could stay at home. I wasn’t stupid,” recalled Ross in a press statement. But soon, Ross’ interests took a pivot from literature to theater. He remembers brushing shoulders with the likes of Nicola Cavendish, Larry Lillo, Brent Carver, and Ruth Nichol, all Canadian actors.

After two years at UBC, he decided it was time to fully immerse himself in theater and went on to pursue a three-year program at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. He soon realized that he was a good actor and not a ‘great’ one. 

So, after completing his theater degree, he thought, "Well, maybe I should go to law school and become a lawyer,' sort of that last resort for everybody who can't quite figure out what they want to do." He told this to the BBC.

But life had dramatic twists and turns planned for him. Before he could pursue a degree in law, Ross had to go back to UBC to finish an extra year of schooling, as he needed a total of three years of schooling to apply to law school.

He spent the next 35 years as a civil litigator in Metro Vancouver before retiring in 2016. Instead of jumping head first into traveling, spending time with children and other leisurely activities that retired men and women engage in, Ross realized he still had that itch to finish his BA degree from five decades ago.

In November 2016, he called UBC, got a new student number, and by January 2017, he was a part-time student focusing on history, with a particular interest in the First World War, says UBC’s press statement. He worked on his degree for the next six years at his own pace, taking up one course at a time.

“I simply could not grasp why so many people would be prepared to participate in this butchery,” he explains. “However, the great revelation of pursuing a history degree was not in answering that initial question, but in looking at the sordid nature of Canadian history.”

At 71 years old, Ross finally got to clinch his degree in Bachelors in Arts 54 years after he was enrolled in the course. "It's a waste not to take the opportunity to study something, anything, that is of interest to you," he said. "Here, the opportunity has presented itself to me, and I have enjoyed it,” he told the BBC.