A native of the northwestern town of Szczecinek, the seat of Szczecinek County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Jolanta Ryszarda Szwajkowska graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań with a degree in psychology and, after earning a degree from Akademia Spraw Wewnętrznych Academy of Internal Affairs in Warsaw, spent a number of years working as a court, police and hospital psychologist.