A 105-year-old great-grandmother walked the stage at Stanford University on June 16 to receive her long-awaited master’s degree.
Virginia “Ginnie” Hislop, of Yakima Washington, earned her bachelor’s degree in education at the Stanford University School of Education in 1940. She waited 83 years to receive her master’s, KAPP-TV reported. Born on June 12, 1919, in Palo Alto, California, she received her diploma four days after her birthday.
“My goodness. I’ve waited a long time,” Hislop said as she was handed her master of arts degree in education, according to the television station. “I always knew I wanted to go to Stanford.”
Hislop was Virginia Anne Sterry when she began taking courses for her master’s degree. By 1941, all she needed for her graduate degree was her master’s thesis, but that never happened.
Her fiancé, George Hislop, who also attended Stanford, was called into the military as the United States prepared for World War II.
The couple married in Pasadena, California, on Aug. 28, 1941, according to the Los Angeles Times. Ginnie shelved her quest for the master’s, according to “ Good Morning America .”