 Financial constraints initially prevented her from enrolling in college, however she eventually obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the Bhim Rao Ambedkar Open University.Around that time, she became an activist with the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), but insists that she never let the politics overshadow the education.In an interview in 2016, Gogu Shyamala described her awakening consciousness to casteism and discrimination in India as an adult, noting "I never realized that there was any discrimination as a kid.