Betty Reid Soskin, nation's oldest park ranger, to receive honorary degree from Mills College

Betty Reid Soskin, 94, on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at the Rosie the Riveter visitor center in Richmond, California. Betty Reid Soskin, 94, on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at the Rosie the Riveter visitor center in Richmond, California. Photo: Michael Noble Jr., The Chronicle Photo: Michael Noble Jr., The Chronicle Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Betty Reid Soskin, nation's oldest park ranger, to receive honorary degree from Mills College 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Betty Reid Soskin has held many roles in her 95 years, from being a member of the California Legislature to being a mother, artist and activist. Come Saturday, Soskin will also hold an honorary degree from Mills College in Oakland.

"No one could possibly understand how much this means," Soskin wrote of the honor in a blog post.

While Soskin has lived "lots and lots of lives," as she told NPR in a 2014 interview, she is perhaps best known for being the oldest ranger in the National Park Service (NPS).

As a tour guide at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Soskin weaves rich stories for visitors. She recounts her experiences as a clerk in an all-black trade union during WWII, and her experiences as a political activist and songwriter during the Civil Rights Movement.

Read an interview with Soskin on SFGATE.

Soskin grew up in East Oakland "at a time when there was little opportunity to even ride past Mills College," she recalls on her blog.

"I grew up at a time when college was only for the privileged," she continues. "Young women whose parents could afford to, sent them to higher education in order to enable them to marry well."

In 2006, Soskin finally got her chance to "be behind those historic buildings" as a participant on a panel sponsored by the National Women's History Project.

The honorary degree will be presented to Soskin at 10:30 a.m. followed by a brief speech, according to the Mercury News. For the ranger, it is the "ultimate honor," symbolic of the "shared history" she now shares with the college she dreamed of attending as a girl.

Soskin closes the post with words of wisdom: "It is true that all things are possible, even if one has to wait a very long lifetime for the fantasy to become breathingly, livingly, and lovingly real!"

Read Michelle Robertson’s latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.