(CNN) David Norman is proving that if you keep chasing your dreams you will succeed.

The Harlem native, who served multiple prison sentences and battled an addiction to heroin, graduated from Columbia University School of General Studies last week. At 67, Norman is the oldest graduate of his class of 547 to receive his bachelor's degree. The average age of the graduation class this year was 29.

"Columbia University School of General Studies is dedicated to serving nontraditional students who want to pursue a traditional Ivy League education," said Christina Gray, communications officer at Columbia University. "And David Norman is but one example of the kind of exceptional students we serve."

Norman's journey to the graduation stage wasn't an easy one. When he was a teenager, he fell into a life of crime and into the grips of drug addiction.

"I was a very shy kid, and I was also selling narcotics, and in that capacity you were taught not to show feelings," said Norman in a press release ."One of the things I realized early was that when I got high, I was able to function socially, which was one of my biggest problems."

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