The example of Virginia “Ginnie” Hislop, 105 years old, is fresh in our minds. She just parlayed her 80-plus-year odyssey at Stanford University into a master’s degree. Her story read like a real-life fairy tale and was inspiring to so many.
Virginia first studied at Stanford University during the 1930s. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in education in 1940. After that, she began working on an MA program several years later; still, with the outbreak of World War II, her plans were suspended: her boyfriend at that time, George Hislop, was called up for military service, after which he and Virginia got married, although she left Stanford without ever having finished her thesis.
Although she did not finish her degree then, education remained close to Virginia’s heart. All her life, she served on school boards and helped establish many other learning institutions across Yakima Valley, Washington. These included leading the Yakima School Board, helping found Yakima Community College, and spending 20 years on the board of Heritage University.
In June 2024, Virginia returned to Stanford to collect her long-elusive graduate degree. During the commencement ceremony, she was also given a standing ovation by the audience. Since Stanford Graduate School of Education no longer has a thesis requirement for the master’s degree, that allowed Virginia to meet today’s requirements and finally be awarded her diploma. Dean Daniel Schwartz commended her lifelong commitment to education and her advocacy for inequities in learning opportunities.
Virginia’s story reminds one more that it is never too late for a person to fulfill their academic dreams and that education never goes out of date. Her work during her lifetime—and the recognition due to her—has made a difference within the educational arena in her community and beyond.
