On Sunday morning, commencement exercises for Stanford University's Graduate School of Education started late. The school's undergraduate ceremony had run behind schedule, so the smaller ceremonies for graduate students ended up being pushed back half an hour.
It was a minor inconvenience for most of the 160 students getting their master's degrees and doctorates in education. For one student, though, it was downright inconsequential. Virginia Hislop had waited 83 years for this day, so what were another 30 minutes?
"My goodness, I've waited a long time," were Hislop's exact words when she accepted her diploma.
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The 105-year-old Hislop, who grew up in Southern California and now lives in Yakima, Washington, said she always wanted to go to Stanford. Her mother had attended the school in the 1920s.
"There was a desire to come to Stanford and take advantage of everything I could," Hislop said.
Hislop earned her undergraduate degree in 1940 and by the summer of 1941, Hislop had earned enough credits to qualify for a master's degree in education and only needed to write a thesis to finish meeting the degree requirements. But then, on the eve of the Second World War, her husband George, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was called up to active duty. He was ordered to report to Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
“Not my idea of a place for a honeymoon,” Hislop said. “But I had no choice in the matter.”
Hislop was soon the mother of two small children, so returning to her studies was not a possibility.
Still, the lack of a master's in education did not stop Hislop from spending a lifetime being involved in education.
"No, it had absolutely no effect," Hislop said.
For decades, Hislop served on boards and committees overseeing every level of schooling, from kindergarten to college in Yakima.
“I gave it a great deal of thought and tried to improve the education where I lived,” Hislop said.
One thing Hislop did not give a great deal of thought to, however, was that nearly-finished degree. It was such a non-issue her son-in-law had never heard the story until recently. He contacted Stanford to inquire about it and learned something revelatory: sometime after Hislop left Stanford, the thesis requirement for a master's had been dropped. She had earned the degree, after all.
"I was surprised and pleased," Hislop said.
So, by her grand and great-grandchildren, Hislop joined the class of 2024 on the commencement stage and received a well-deserved standing ovation.
She viewed it as a recognition, not just for her diploma, but for all the work in education she has done in the past 80 years.
"I feel like I've made a difference in my community," she said.
