105-year-old woman bags master’s degree in U.S. varsity

A 105-year-old woman, Virginia Hislop, has bagged a master’s degree at the Stanford Graduate School of Education in California, United States.

The school announced this in a post on its Facebook account on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.

The institution disclosed that the woman graduated from the school on Monday, June 17.

It stated: “Yesterday, at the age of 105, Virginia ‘Ginger’ Hislop graduated from Stanford Graduate School of Education with her master’s degree.

“When she started on campus in 1936, her plan was to get her bachelor’s of education, which she did in 1940, and obtain her master’s of education so she could teach, which she started directly after.

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“However, just after completing her coursework and before turning in her final thesis, her then-boyfriend George Hislop, ’41, a GSE student in Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), got called in to serve during World War II, prompting the pair to get married and Virginia Hislop to leave campus before graduating.”

Stanford noted that Hislop, after leaving campus for 83 years, returned to the school to finish what she started and receive her graduate degree.

“When she rose from her seat at the ceremony, donned in cap and gown, to walk across the stage and receive her master’s hood, the applause roared. She was handed her diploma and smiled for the cameras. Her grandkids waved and cheered,” the institution added.

Speaking on the feat, the 105-year-old woman said: “My goodness, I’ve waited a long time for this.

“I thought it was one of the things I could pick up along the way if I needed it and I always enjoyed studying, so that wasn’t really a great concern to me – and getting married was.

“I felt that all the kids should have an opportunity to develop their potential as best they could, and that everybody should have a crack at higher education if they wanted.

“I’ve been doing this work for years and it’s nice to be recognized with this degree.”

The Star