Among the NYU 2020 graduating class is Bryce Dallas Howard. Starting college in 1999 at New York University, Bryce took a leave of absence in 2001 to pursue a career in acting.

During her 21 year absence from NYU, Bryce’s acting career took off. It wasn’t until 2019 did Bryce return to NYU, but to teach her own class at Tisch.

Bryce took to social media to make her announcement. “I am so overcome with joy to share that I have officially graduated from NYU!! 💜 I first enrolled in undergrad in ’99, then took a leave of absence to start working as an actor, so this has been 21 years in the making! It’s been a long dream of mine to complete my formal education and though all of us NYU grads couldn’t wear glorious purple robes together today, I want to say thank you to everyone who supported and encouraged all of us graduates every step of the way. To the class of 2020, WE MADE IT”

In a lengthy letter Bryce wrote to her fellow graduates, she explains that, “I fully intended on graduating one day. In fact, I continually deferred the following semesters and the semesters after that, hoping that instead of “dropping out,” I was simply taking a “leave of absence.” Again, and again, and again.” You can find the entire letter here

With returning to college two decades later from when she started, Bryce proves that it’s never too late. As a teacher, Bryce graduated with her own students.