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Never too late: Wahoo woman receives master's degree at 56, after life full of roadblocks

Sam Crisler Wahoo Newspaper
Feb 8, 2024
Feb 8, 2024 Updated Mar 15, 2025
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Genoveva Prochaska shows off her master’s degree that she received in January from Bellevue University. Prochaska grew up in poverty in Mexico and could not speak English when she moved to Wahoo in 1985. With her degree in clinical counseling, she plans to work as a school counselor and perform court-ordered evaluations for defendants.

Sam Crisler photos, Wahoo Newspaper

Genoveva Prochaska’s accolades and degrees are spread across a table at Good Friends Cafe in Wahoo last Thursday. The 56-year-old hopes her story can inspire others to follow their dreams, even if it doesn’t happen until later in life.

Sam Crisler Wahoo Newspaper

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Sam Crisler Wahoo Newspaper

WAHOO — High school English classes hadn’t prepared Genoveva Prochaska for the language barrier she faced when she came to Wahoo. Words like “chicken” and “kitchen” sounded the same, and her new classmates’ conversations moved too fast for her to keep up.

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