“Grandma Great” proves it’s never too late to pursue your passions

Sharon Barber is a proud “senior” at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

Decades ago, the now 79-year-old put school on pause and raised a family. Now, 16 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren later — and after retiring as a substitute teacher — she returned to class.

“It was scary,” Barber told CBS News. The first classes I took — my textbooks — I was like…’What even does this say? What does this mean?’ I don’t even know. So it was daunting at first.”

“There isn’t a certain age … to go back to school,” her classmate Sonia Gonzalez said. “And she proved that.”

Barber not only excelled in the classroom but also on TikTok. “Grandma Great” as she is known to her more than 2 million TikTok followers, is inspiring others, both on campus, and in the virtual world.

“I have 2.2 million TikTok grandchildren,” she said. “I feel I’m making a connection with people.”

Barber is proving it’s never too late to pursue your passions, sharing her own lessons with her followers.

“Just do it,” Barber said. “And just know that all you have to do is just do your best. That’s all. It doesn’t matter how old you are.”