NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — An 88-year-old Nebraska Panhandle woman has been awarded her 1945 high school diploma during a surprise graduation ceremony.

Gladys Laune donned her North Platte High School blue cap and gown on Thursday, nearly 70 years after her father made her drop out of school. Laune thought she was going to a birthday party for a friend but the celebration was actually in her honor.

Laune says she earned her diploma after dropping out of school but it was never granted.

Superintendent Dr. Larry Ramaekers helped set up the ceremony after being contacted by Laune’s family. He says the school had kept transcript records from the 1940s.