105 Years old Woman gets her master’s from Stanford

A woman who left school during World War II finally received her master’s degree in education 83 years later at the age of 105.

Virginia “Ginger” Hislop earned her bachelor’s degree from the Stanford University School of Education in 1940 and immediately started work on her master’s at what is now the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Hislop’s boyfriend, George Hislop, was called up to serve in World War II, leading the couple to get married and leave campus just before she would have turned in her final thesis to get her degree.

“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 in a Stanford news release.

Hislop, who now lives in Washington, remained in the education field by serving on her local school board, chairing the Yakima School Board of Directors, being a founding member of the board of directors for Yakima Community College and helping to start Heritage University in Toppenish, Wash., where she served 20 years on the board.

Hislop returned to Stanford 83 years after leaving to accept her master’s degree at the age of 105.

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

She walked across the stage at the GSE Diploma ceremony and was handed her diploma by Dean Daniel Schwartz.

“My goodness,” Hislop said. “I’ve waited a long time for this.”