SPRING
GRADUATES INCLUDE
MOTHERS , CHILDREN
Eastern Florida State College treated Spring Commencement like a true family affair in May with four mothers and their children graduating together .
More than
1,750
Students were eligible to graduate with about 700 taking part in two ceremonies at the King Center for the Performing Arts
• More than 1,750 students were eligible to graduate with about 700 taking part in two ceremonies at the King Center for the Performing Arts
• The pre-Mother ’ s Day weekend celebration included four families with a mother and her child graduating on the same day and in one case a mother and two children
• Niccole Patellis , her daughter Emma Dion and stepson Christopher Patellis , all earned Associate in Arts degrees , with Niccole having previously received an Aerospace Technology Associate Degree at EFSC
• “ My brother and I were both part of the dual enrollment program at Merritt Island High School which allowed us to get our A . A .,” said Dion , who plans to join the Army while Christopher heads to UCF .
• “ Our mother works for Microsoft and so she was able to further her degree through her job . She plans on getting her Bachelor ’ s Degree through Eastern Florida in cybersecurity ,” added Dion .
• Also adding to the family atmosphere were mother and son graduates Dorothy and Dawson Bowman and Traci and Elijah McGough , who all earned Associate in Arts degrees , plus mother and daughter Stefanie and Mia Rodriguez , who both completed the Early Childhood Education Associate Degree and associated certificates
• “ She really wanted to be a teacher and wanted to open her own preschool so when she let me know her goal , we both decided to enroll ,” said Stefanie .
• The McGoughs did not originally plan to finish at the same time but were excited when it worked out that way
• “ We both started the process for Direct Connect to UCF . Elijah will be majoring in Information Technology and I will be majoring in International and Global Studies ,” said Traci . “ I work at the Kennedy Space Center so this major will tie in well with what I do .”
• When now 17-year-old Dawson Bowman started EFSC ’ s dual enrollment program , it prompted his mom to go back and finish college
• “ When I was in high school , I pushed my mom to go back to school and now I am doing the same ,” said Dorothy whose son will move on to Florida Polytechnic University
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