On the first day of class, Dessie Gipson sits at the front of the lecture room, head bent over the notebook in front of her, tapping her pen.
Students shuffling in assume the woman with the pixie cut and crisp blazer must be the professor. Gipson, however, is preparing not to teach but to learn — reviewing notes she took while studying library books over the summer.
Beyond succeeding in her classes, the 78-year-old San Jacinto College student wants to finish college to become a counselor.
Deferred dream
Gipson and her eight siblings grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward, raised by a single mother.
Working two jobs to support them, their mother showed the value of dedication and sacrifice. Praying for their safety each morning, she emphasized the importance of faith.
An eighth-grade graduate who married at 15, she encouraged her kids to pursue a better future for themselves.
“My mother always instilled in us the importance of education,” Gipson said.
After graduating high school, Gipson attended Texas Southern University part time while working, but classes soon gave way to wedding bells and babies.
“In the back of my mind, though, I always wanted to pursue my education,” she said.
Dessie Gipson
New beginning
Marriage, four children, and all the responsibilities that went with both delayed college. Gipson worked in several fields, ending as an elementary special needs resource paraprofessional. Throughout the years, she watched her siblings and younger relatives earn degrees.
Finally, at 75, Gipson retired … sort of. With more time, she felt her dream was finally within reach.
“I’m not going to sit at home and watch TV all day like a couch potato,” she told her husband.
After reading in San Jac’s Senior Focus magazine about a tuition waiver for seniors, she enrolled at the North Campus in fall 2025, determined to earn the degree she’d been dreaming about for years.
Determined return
Initially, Gipson felt like “a fish out of water,” but she soon found her rhythm on campus. It started with what she does best: greeting everyone she meets with a smile and a hug.
To younger classmates, she’s the caring, tough-loving mother figure who reminds them to focus and apply themselves rather than dozing in class or scrolling on their phones.
“You have a purpose,” she tells them. “You can better yourself!”
Even with her sunny attitude, Gipson admits some classes have daunted her.
“Math is not my friend,” she said, laughing.
As with any other challenge, though, she finds a way, like requesting the professor’s permission to sit through the next section of the same class to absorb the content better.
Outside of class hours, Gipson camps out in San Jac’s tutoring center, then drives home to study more. To support her, her husband has shouldered many household tasks.
Returning to school has been rewarding, but it hasn’t been easy. Health challenges have sent her to the hospital several times, yet she’s missed only one day of class since she started.
Thanks to encouraging tutors and professors, she has remained on the dean’s list.
“There’s nothing God and I can’t handle together,” she said.
Fulfilled purpose
Seventy years ago, Gipson’s mother, Lucille Andrews, had a dream for her family. Today, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren include doctors, entrepreneurs, lawyers, nurses, and principals. Soon, Gipson will be adding to that legacy her own new title: counselor.
After earning her associate degree in May 2027, she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in counseling next.
Why is she doing this? Not for a diploma. Not to stay busy. But for a purpose.
“I want to counsel kids who have been abused, neglected — the kids no one is listening to,” she said. “They have something to say. They have a purpose.”
She’s achieving her purpose to help others achieve theirs.
“Success is never giving up on your goals and dreams,” she said. “Learning has no age or expiration date.”
By Courtney Morris
