21/05/2026
Dawn Zuidgeest‑Craft once set aside her dream of attending medical school to focus on raising her children and building a meaningful career as a nurse practitioner and pediatric educator, but everything changed when her husband, Carl, nearly died from a brain hemorrhage. Faced with the reality of how fragile life can be, Dawn decided it was now or never to pursue her lifelong goal.
At 69, she used her retirement savings to enroll in St. James School of Medicine, overcoming challenges along the way, including failing an early exam, while leaning on the support of her husband and classmates. Through determination and passion for the work, she completed clinical rotations across several states and ultimately graduated as the school’s oldest-ever medical student at age 72. Driven not by necessity but by love for the field, Dawn is now preparing to begin her residency, proving it is never too late to follow a dream.
Photos courtesy of Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft, supplied to the Washington Post.
