Sangha of Auspicious Companions

At 73, She Fulfills Life-Long Dream to Become a Doctor

When a near-fatal brain hemorrhage prompted Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft and her husband to revisit their bucket list, she spoke aloud the dream she’d been postponing for decades: medical school. Through two marriages, four children, and a fulfilling career as a nurse practitioner, the aspiration had quietly persisted, waiting for its moment. At 72, she became the oldest graduate of St. James School of Medicine, funding her education with retirement savings and pushing through failed exams with support from classmates young enough to be her grandchildren. “I feel alive when I work in the medical field,” she says, and at 73, she begins her residency — proof that some callings don’t fade with time, they simply wait for us to stop waiting.

Be The Change

Today, identify one dream you’ve shelved “for later”. Take one single, tangible step toward it. This might mean researching one class, sketching one drawing, or writing the opening paragraph of something you’ve carried silently for years. Let this small action remind you that deferred dreams don’t expire; they wait for the moment you’re ready to pick them up.