Wilhemine's last gift to her daughter was a bequest of $5,000 she had carefully saved up over the years. This money, on top of Kennard's own savings (and additional income from continuing to work part-time while in school), enabled Kennard to finally pursue her long-deferred dream of going to college. In 1970, she received an A.A. from Pasadena City College. In 1971, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Phi Beta Kappa and "magna cum laude" honors in German from the University of Southern California. She continued her studies at USC, where she would go on to graduate in 1974 with both a Master of Public Administration from USC Price School of Public Policy and a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law.