I’m a grandma of 3 and just graduated from college — now I’m taking a millennial-style ‘gap year’ and celebrating with my new Gen Z pals 

This caller grad is celebrating pinch a post-college rite of transition — a spread twelvemonth — only she’s doing it successful her 70s.

At 74, Dorotea Levy de Szekely — grandmother of 3 and self-proclaimed lifelong learner — conscionable graduated pinch a bachelor’s grade from Hunter College, proving it’s ne'er excessively precocious to deed nan books aliases rewrite your ain story.

“My motto has ever been, ‘Don’t fto property beryllium your cage,’” nan witty Upper East Sider told The Post, stepping successful Hunter’s 228th commencement astatine nan Barclays Center connected Friday, alongside much than 3,300 grads.

Born and raised successful Argentina, nan stylish silver scholar had a decades-long detour earlier snagging her degree. 

After a sadistic coach successful nan first people told her she’d “never” decorativeness precocious schoolhouse owed to a learning disability, Levy de Szekely avoided assemblage entirely, contempt an unshakable emotion for learning and a longing to prosecute higher education.

“You ever learn, and I worked my life towards that verdict,” she told The Post. “But each clip I walked by a university, I felt this sadness and longing inside, arsenic I wanted to spell location and learn.

“Thankfully, present astatine Hunter College successful New York City, this is nan only spot successful nan world I deliberation that welcomed me, notwithstanding my property aliases who I am.”

Her assemblage comeback began successful 2017, erstwhile she enrolled astatine nan Borough of Manhattan Community College and earned her associate’s grade successful 2019 pinch a flawless 4.0 GPA arsenic nan co-valedictorian of her class. 

Then came Hunter, wherever she racked up a 3.98 GPA, triple majored successful German Language and Literature, English (with a attraction successful Creative Writing), and Studio Art — and made BFFs much than half her age.

One of them, a 20-year-old classmate named Babsi, is “younger than my granddaughter,” Levy de Szekely noted — and yet, they’ve go specified adjacent pals that Babsi came to cheer her connected astatine graduation and moreover group up a WhatsApp video telephone truthful a classmate successful Pakistan could watch, too.

“I thought this was very moving,” a delighted Levy de Szekely said. 

After nan ceremony, which would besides beryllium attended by her proud children and grandchildren, nan brainy besties planned to observe pinch burgers astatine UES hotspot, JG Melon. 

Levy de Szekely’s passion for group — and prose — shaped her assemblage experience.

“For me, it’s truthful important to look you successful nan oculus and cognize who you are,” she explained. “Sometimes it comes crossed arsenic if you’re nosy aliases curious, but I’m ever very willing successful nan quality being who’s sitting crossed from maine … being little ignorant astir nan different personification makes you much compassionate.

“I made awesome connections astatine Hunter because I’m ever asking everyone, you know, ‘Who are you, what motivates you, wherever are you from?’”

It wasn’t conscionable chap students who made an effect — professors near their mark, too, particularly those who helped nurture her emotion of literature.

“I emotion imaginative penning and history … There’s truthful galore things,” she said, revealing nan brainy books and subjects she devoured.

“Like, we were reference Franz Kafka successful German and studying nan problems that originate erstwhile translating it to English aliases immoderate different language,” she recalled. “That’s, I think, thing very interesting.”

Her literate tastes skew philosophical and are particularly inspired by early 20th-century Austrian writer Stefan Zweig.

“He said thing that stuck successful my mind — that history decides for you,” Levy de Szekely told The Post, adding that Zweig’s penning resonates pinch her arsenic it proves that moreover nan smallest choices tin style nan people of history.

Now, alternatively of backpacking done Europe for illustration galore Gen Z grads, Levy de Szekely is taking a “gap year” her ain measurement — by devouring books connected her ain time. 

Levy de Szekely, who speaks an astonishing 4 languages — Spanish, English, German and “some French” — later plans to tutor successful Hunter’s German section and prep for a master’s grade successful English astatine CUNY’s Lehman College aliases Hunter.

“I would emotion to prosecute a Master’s successful English,” she said, admitting, ‘I’d emotion for it to beryllium imaginative writing, but it’s going to beryllium difficult.”

She’s moreover dabbling successful fairytale rewrites — including a caller return connected “Little Red Riding Hood” that honors “powerful women.”

One thing’s for sure: she’s not slowing down.

Forget Sudoku, excessively — Levy de Szekely says eternal curiosity and an unfastened mind are each you request to support nan intelligence gears turning astatine immoderate age.

“As I say, learning is simply a journey. It’s a life journey. So you person to learn,” she explained pinch a hint of philosophy. “In life, you cannot unrecorded without learning, moreover if you don’t cognize that you’re learning.”

Or, arsenic her begetter utilized to show her: “The time I cannot study thing anymore, I will beryllium dead.”

Clearly, this grandma’s conscionable getting started.