Peggy Wilburn Titt, a 74-year-old graduate from the University of Houston-Victoria, walked the stage to receive her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing this May inside Faith Family Church, marking a chapter of her life that she has always wanted to see come to fruition.

As Peggy Wilburn Titt crossed the stage to receive her degree, the graduate was driven by a profound sense of purpose.

“If these young kids can see that this old lady can do this, maybe they might be encouraged to continue their education as well,” Titt said.

Titt, a 74-year-old graduate from the University of Houston-Victoria, walked the stage to receive her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing on May 11 inside Faith Family Church, marking a chapter of her life that she has always wanted to see come to fruition.

Anthony Madrid

“Peggy was an ideal student: wide-awake, enthusiastic and interested in everything. The kind of person who, if you give her a piece of charcoal, will come back and hand you a diamond,” said Anthony Madrid, UHV assistant professor of English and creative writing.

Hailing from Columbus, Texas, her journey to her milestone began more than five decades ago. In 1972, she graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in education and language arts, as well as specializing in special education.

“Before teaching, I was substituting, and I found that special education was my niche,” Titt said. “I really enjoyed working with the special needs kids, and so I got a certification for that as well.”

Seeing how her three daughters were growing and becoming more independent, and with her certifications, Titt dove into teaching full-time for the Katy Independent School District in 1975. While there, she taught speech, drama and English.

After retiring from teaching in 2008, Titt said her yearning for knowledge and personal growth remained insatiable.

“Getting a master’s degree was something I wanted to do for a long time,” Titt said. “Growing up, people always told me, ‘You ought to write, you ought to write’, I guess they like the way I put words together,” she said with a chuckle.

In 2020, as Titt celebrated her 70^th birthday, she gave herself the gift of opportunity by enrolling at UHV. The timing, amidst the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed her to attend classes online, balancing her academic pursuits while allowing her to maintain her household, she said.

“I thought to myself, ‘Now that I’m retired, I’m not trying to enhance my income, why would I want to do this?’ It was just for the personal satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment,” Titt said.

Her journey at UHV was made easier by the unwavering support from her friends and family, she said. Titt’s 94-year-old mother, in particular, was thrilled, she said.

“She didn’t get to come to the ceremony because she has difficulty walking,” Titt said. “But she saw the streaming live and got to see all those people standing and applauding, and she was just full of pride.”

Reflecting on her writing, Titt said initially, her writing keyed in on memories and family stories.

“Everybody has a lot of things going on in their families that they don’t think are interesting to other people, but I thought I’d just write some little stories for the family, and I love writing letters to people communicating with them,” Titt said.

Her writing then evolved to include short stories and poetry, culminating in her thesis, a collection of 40 poems including “Telecacophony.”

“It’s just a little short poem about people who talk on the phone all the time, everywhere you go, and I am not interested in hearing their conversations,” Titt said.

Looking over the four years at UHV, Titt said she was pleasantly surprised to find that she felt less ostracized than she thought she might. The collaboration and support from the other students and professors made her feel like she was truly at home, she said. Admittedly, Titt said some of the obstacles she had to jump over were finding her way around how to use a computer.

Now, with her master’s degree in hand, Titt said she is eager to give back to her community. She plans to teach literacy, hoping to connect with the literacy council in Victoria to ensure every child and adult in the area has the opportunity to learn to read, fall in love with books and expand their minds.

“Getting my master’s degree instills that life is still exciting,” she said. “Life is still exciting — there’s still opportunities — adventures and challenges still await.”