Poppy Harlow Taking Time Away from CNN to Study Law at Yale: 'It's OK to Take a Risk at 40'

CNN's Poppy Harlow is taking a break from the network to pursue a law degree.

The anchor shared on Newsroom Tuesday that she will be going to Yale Law School this fall for a one-year program catered to "mid-career journalists seeking an intensive immersion in legal thinking so that they are better able to educate their audiences upon their return to journalism."

"Starting next week, I will be taking a break from being with you every morning on this show so that I can go back to school. Yes, school! I'm going to study law for a Master's degree," she said on the air. "It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. And if this year and a half has taught me anything, it is, why not try!"

Harlow jokingly added that her time off-air is "only going to be until the spring, so you're not getting rid of me very long."

In an interview, she told CNN, "I'm someone who's not taken a lot of risks, who's been scared of things, but I'm just going to try."

The anchor turns 40 next year and said her message is "it's OK to take a risk at 40."

Both her late father, James Harlow, and the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg inspired her to pursue law school.

"As a little girl, I would sit with him at the kitchen table and he would take apart a camera or a printer and say 'Look, Poppy, this is where they infringed a patent.' 'This is why we're going to court,' " she recalled her father telling her.

As for Ginsburg, Harlow did a lot of reporting surrounding her death which prompted her to look back at Justice's work-life balance. The famed attorney's career in law ran parallel to her time as a mother and care for her husband Martin, who was diagnosed with cancer.

Harlow thanked her husband — with whom she shares a daughter Sienna, 5, and son Luca James, 3 — for his willingness to "take on a lot while I try this."

She also gave a shout-out to her bosses at CNN for being "the rare kind who make the impossible, possible."

"This is such a terrific opportunity for Poppy and I am so proud of her for committing to it," CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker said in a statement. "‎She will have a ton on her plate -- but I know she will manage it flawlessly and come back enriched and so much better for it."

Zucker added that CNN "could not be more supportive and‎ we all wish her the best of luck, and not too many all-nighters. I can't wait to have her back full time in the anchor chair."

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A rotation of co-hosts will join Jim Sciutto while Harlow is off the air, however, she will make occasional appearances during times she doesn't have class, including holidays and breaks."Basically, I will never have a holiday. I will anchor every single holiday. You will see me when I don't have class. You will see me filling in wherever they need me," Harlow told Variety.