Proud student posts heartwarming pictures of her 82-year-old grandfather going back to college

18-year-old Melanie Salazar said her grandfather inspires and motivates her

Rene Neira illustrates that education knows no age limit (Melanie Salazar / Twitter)

It is never too late to get an education.

Melanie Salazar might not have expected that her posts about her 82-year-old grandfather going back to college - and the same college as her - would spark so much attention.

But when the 18-year-old student wrote on twitter that she was proud of her grandfather, Rene Neira, for completing his two-year associate degree, it was quickly picked up and re-tweeted more than 2,000 times.

The Palo Alto College student in Texas tweeted: “I'm so proud of my grandpa for finishing his first day at PAC this semester! 82 years old and not giving up!!!”

She also posted a selfie of the two of them, smiling at the camera.

Mr Neira is taking his last classes to obtain his associate’s degree in economics, while his granddaughter is studying liberal arts.

“Honestly to me it feels normal that I’m going to school with my grandpa,” she told ABC News.

“I look at my grandpa and I’m proud of him," she said.

She added that she has watched her grandfather take classes occasionally as she was growing up.

When he graduates in autumn, he will enroll at the University of Texas at San Antonio to get a bachelor’s degree.

Ms Salazar said she was undecided what to study herself at first, but her grandfather inspires and motivates her.

"I know that if he can do it I can definitely do it," she said.