For Evelyn Lipmann, 94, the opportunity to learn was not always something she believed was possible.

When the Nazis marched into Austria in 1938, Evelyn’s education was cut short and she was banned from attending her school. She did what she could to continue learning, sometimes at immense personal risk as a young Jewish girl.

After surviving internment in four camps and witnessing horrible suffering, Evelyn and her relatives were able to move to England, which is where Evelyn met her husband and started her own family.

It was decades later that Evelyn was finally able to revel in the joy of learning, becoming one of The Open University’s pioneer students and going on to graduate in 1979.

Evelyn credits her OU degree with helping her to rebuild her confidence and give her the strength to share her story. To read more about Evelyn’s incredible life, head to OU news for her full story.