Astronomy student Sarah Ballard was flattered starstruck, even when her famous professor,Geoff Marcy, began meeting her outside of class in the spring of 2005 to discuss new planets and galaxies.

It was exhilarating, says Ballard, then a 20-year-old at the University of California at Berkeley, and deeply affirming. He said I had promise to go really far.

But in the end, it was Marcy who went way too far.

Their conversations soon became sexual in nature, Ballard, now 33, says, with Marcy divulging details about his sex life and asking about her own experiences. Then, later that summer after giving Ballard a ride home, Marcy told me to relax and started rubbing the back of my neck, she says.

Ballard fled the car, but like so many women who experience sexual harassment, the blow to her self-esteem stayed with her.

I dont know of a single person, no matter how cruel the harassment or the assault, who doesnt feel some of that guilt and shame, says Ballard, and wonders, Could I have done something differently? Perhaps it was my fault?

Ballard struggled over whether to confront Marcy or tell school authorities. His support was critical to Ballard getting into graduate school, and she worried about potential backlash from the science community.

So when Marcys inexplicably cooled toward Ballard, she says she was both relieved and troubled.

It was clear that the experience had deeply affected her, says science writer Sarah Scoles, who interned with Ballard the following summer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and whom Ballard confided in about the incident.

She trusted (Marcy) professionallyhe had broken that trust and taken advantage of his power over both her and her career.

Ballard graduated from Berkeley in 2007 and went on to Harvard, where she earned aPh.D. in astronomy and astrophysics. Then, while attending a Women in Astronomy conference in 2011, another Berkeley student told her there were recent reports of harassment in the department and mentioned Marcys name.

Watch Sarah Ballard on the seriesPeople Features: Women Speak Out, available now, on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go topeople.com/PEN, or download the PEN app on your favorite device.

For the first time, I said aloud, That happened to me! says Ballard, who was determined not to let it happen to any more women.

I couldnt protect myself then, she adds, but I could protect women who are 20 today.

Ballard became one of four anonymous complainants in a school investigation of the renowned professor, which ended in 2015 with the university determining that Marcy had violated their sexual harassment policies.

We are well aware that any harassment of students, staff and faculty by members of our faculty represents an unacceptable breach of the academic or professional supervisory relationship, said a Berkeley spokesperson, an a recent statement issued to PEOPE.

Marcy was put on notice, but was not removed from his position at the school.

When I saw that I felt the beginning of what would be months of grief, Ballard recalls. It was my first realization that the academic system that I thought was so meritorious, that I wanted to actually spend my life within, was deeply unfair.I wouldnt receive any justice and he could go on and harass other women.

Frustrated and upset, the four women decided to go public with their story soon after, with Ballard using her real name in the media.

For more on Sarah Ballards story, check out this weeks issue, on newsstands Friday.

It was a gesture that said I wasnt afraid, she says.

The science community rallied in support of the women, with thousands signing a petition against sexual harassment, leading to Marcys resignation and a public letter of apology posted on his website, saying in part, While I do not agree with each complaint that was made, it is clear that my behavior was unwelcomed by some women. I take full responsibility and hold myself completely accountable for my actions and the impact they had.

Today, Ballard is living her dream as a postdoctoral fellow for exoplanetary science at M.I.T. in Boston, where she spends her days focused on planets orbiting the stars, and continues her fight against sexual harassment in the science community.

The more women come out saying, This happened to me, the more (other) women willthink, That validates my own experience. Perhaps I, too, will move forward and think about protecting other women, Ballard says.

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'I Was Sexually Harassed by My Professor': After Years of Silent Struggle, Astronomer Sarah Ballard Tells Her Story - PEOPLE.com