105-year-old great-grandmother gets her Stanford degree after 83 years

Eighty-three years after leaving her master's program at Stanford University for love, 105-year-old Virginia "Ginger" Hislop returned to earn her degree, proving it's never too late to get an education.

Hislop's journey began in 1936 at Stanford University School of Education, where she pursued a bachelor's degree in education. She graduated in 1940 and immediately started working on her master's degree in education, aiming to become a teacher, reports Today. 

However, after completing her coursework and before submitting her final thesis, Hislop decided to put her ambitions on hold. 

World War II was in full swing, and her then-boyfriend, George Hislop, a GSE student in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, was called to serve. This news prompted the couple to marry, and Hislop left her program.

"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," Hislop said, according to a release from Stanford Graduate School of Education.

After leaving Stanford, Hislop embarked on a career in Washington state politics. She started on a local school board after her daughter Anne's school suggested she take home economics instead of advanced English.

Hislop later chaired the Yakima School Board of Directors, became a founding member of the board of directors for Yakima Community College, and helped start Heritage University in Toppenish, Washington, serving on its board for 20 years.

Recently, her son-in-law Doug Jensen contacted Stanford. 

When she left Stanford in 1940, Hislop had all the credits she needed to graduate, except for completing a master's thesis. Since then, however, the university has dropped the thesis requirement, meaning Hislop had all the necessary credits to earn her degree.

On 16 June, Hislop turned her tassel and received her master of arts in education as the lone member of the class of 1940. According to the Stanford Graduate School of Education, her march across the stage was met with a standing ovation from her fellow graduates and her family, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

"My goodness. I've waited a long time for this," Hislop said in Stanford's release.