For Royal Holloway Erasmus student Katharina (Geography 2021), the path to higher education was anything but straightforward. Shaped by personal loss, family responsibilities and years of working to survive, her story is one of extraordinary determination — and a lifelong belief that education is a right, not a privilege. Having completed both a BSc and a Master's degree, and now planning a PhD, she hopes her journey will inspire others who feel it may be too late to return to learning.
A long road to the classroom
After losing her father at a young age, Katharina was removed from school by her mother, who believed education was not suitable for her. Years of raising three children, working in precarious jobs and navigating difficult circumstances followed, yet her desire to learn never left her.
She attempted to return to education twice, in 1994 and again in 2004, but family responsibilities and financial pressures made it impossible each time.
"I chose my children, but the ambition to learn remained in my heart."
It was not until 2014, when her youngest daughter completed her own Master's degree, that Katharina found a way back, completing her Abitur online before beginning a BSc in Geography at the University of Bonn in 2017, commuting up to five hours each day to attend classes.
"Even today, it sometimes feels surreal that I went from seamstress to scholar. I see myself as a bridge-builder between different social and academic worlds — no longer as someone struggling in the shadows, but as someone whose voice is heard and whose knowledge can make a difference."
Inspired across generations
When asked which women inspired her educational journey, Katharina thinks first of her grandmother — born in 1889 in East Prussia, the same era in which Royal Holloway was founded on the principle that women deserved access to higher education.
"My grandmother grew up in the countryside with only limited schooling. After the First World War she was widowed, raising my father alone through the Great Depression. She never complained and faced her life with dignity and self-respect. In the letters we wrote to each other almost every week, she repeatedly emphasised the importance of schooling and good grades."
"Her strength, perseverance and dignity shaped me deeply. Knowing that she lived at the same time that Royal Holloway was encouraging women to pursue education fills me with awe — it is a reminder that education, perseverance and self-respect can connect and inspire across generations."
Discovering Royal Holloway
Katharina's undergraduate research into famine and food security led her to apply for an Erasmus semester at Royal Holloway — a university whose founding mission resonated deeply with her own story.
"Royal Holloway's inspiring history as one of the first higher education institutions in the UK founded for women resonated deeply with me. I valued the historical campus, its beautiful green spaces, the spectacular daffodils in spring, and the majestic cedar trees. The open and collaborative spirit of lecturers and fellow students made a lasting impression."
Now planning her doctoral dissertation, Katharina's journey of lifelong learning continues. Her message to anyone who feels it is too late to return to education is simple:
"As long as I live, I learn. Learning brings joy to life — and that joy is not bound to any age."
If Katharina's story has inspired you to take the next step in your own educational journey, Royal Holloway offers a 20% postgraduate tuition fee discount for our alumni - find out more here.
