Despite brain injury from horrific crash, Canadian sets world record for most degrees
A woman from Dartmouth, N.S. now holds the most academic degrees of any woman in history, making her an official world record holder, according to the World Record Academy.
“I have 32 of them,” Dr. Stephanie Attwater said.
But her diplomas and degrees didn’t come easily.
Attwater was involved in a severe car accident 20 years ago, during her first year of university, that resulted in a brain injury. It heightened her risk of being diagnosed with certain types of dementia later in life. In response, she decided to challenge her brain “as a way to exercise it.”
And then her journey began.
“They thought that (20 years ago) as soon as you injured your brain, there was absolutely nothing you can do to come back from that,” she said.
“I was determined to make sure that was not true.”
The first degree Attwater received was a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Biotechnology in May 2004 at the University of Ottawa. Since then, she’s received certifications from several institutions including the University of British Columbia, National University of Medical Sciences, and the London College of Osteopathy Canada.
She said the injuries she sustained from the accident forced her to re-learn how to read, in addition to re-acquiring the know-how of other subjects that she previously excelled in as a child.
“I lost the ability to do math … I really struggled with speaking for a number of years. I still struggle with that. You really notice it when I’m tired,” she said. “You know that thing in your brain that tells you a word is a word when you look at it? That got broke, so, words are just a string of letters. I had to figure out a different way to read.”
Attwater said she perceives her accolades as a “personal triumph” because it
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