Harvard Extension School grad celebrates long-earned degree
Minoo Ghoreishi’s path to a bachelor’s degree in government from the Harvard Extension School was daunting and arduous, not least because it took the single mother four decades. Over that time, the 57-year-old Iranian American, who works for the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, learned much — and became a lesson in courage and perseverance for family and colleagues. Always an avid learner, Ghoreishi’s first attempt at college was disrupted by politics. Born and raised in Tehran, she graduated high school at just 16 and went to London to study in 1977. But reports of the civil unrest in her homeland drew her back the next year, and her dreams of higher education were upended by the Iranian Revolution. In February 1979, Iran closed its universities for what was termed “curriculum reform.” War with Iraq followed, claiming members of Ghoreishi’s family. Determined to carry on with her education, Ghoreishi applied...