Getting your high school diploma is the reward for four years of sleepless nights, long study sessions, and heaps of homework. For some, this journey takes a little longer. But for 94-year-old Detroit resident and great-grandma Dore Smith, getting her degree after several decades was well worth the wait.

When Dore was in 7th grade, she had to drop out of school to start working. Now, 10 kids later, her granddaughter orchestrated the graduation surprise for her at River Rouge High School. The kids told her they "were going out to take some pictures," but they had much bigger plans.

"I thought the school was graduating and I come to find out I'm graduating," Dore said.

With the help of her family, Dore crossed the stage in her wheelchair and a super-fresh cap and gown and received her diploma later that day.

"It means a lot -- it means everything to me," she told a local affiliate, "I'll have my diploma, and I can be showing it to people, and let them know that I graduated at 94 years old."

What's next? Dore joked that she's got her eye on Harvard.