Maryland mother and son graduate together on same day

Lissette Garcia and her son Jason turned one commencement into a family milestone at the University of Maryland Global Campus, crossing the stage together on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Lissette earned a Bachelor of Science in human resource management and psychology; Jason earned a Bachelor of Science in political science.

Their paths ran in parallel for years without ever overlapping in a classroom. Lissette began her UMGC journey in 2018, and Jason started in 2023, a timeline that shows how adult students often move toward a degree in the margins of work and family life, one term at a time.

For Lissette, the moment carried the added weight of a parent seeing a child reach a major academic goal at the same time. “To walk the stage with my son, it’s just so great,” she said. Jason described the achievement as “a massive relief and a massive accomplishment to finally cross that stage.” After years of balancing their separate programs, the Garcias said they plan to celebrate with career moves and a restful vacation.

Their shared graduation also underscored how much persistence it can take for a family to finish school together, even when the majors, timelines and daily demands differ. The ceremony marked not just diplomas, but the long work of staying enrolled, staying focused and staying financially and emotionally steady enough to reach the finish line.

That same graduation season brought another striking academic milestone in Atlanta. Spelman College announced seven valedictorians for the Class of 2026, the first time in the school’s history that so many students shared the top honor. Alexis Sims, Nia-Sarai Perry, Cori’Anna White, Aiyana Ringo, Alyssa Richardson, Sophia Davis and Mariama Diallo all finished with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.

Spelman’s Top Ten Graduates page says multiple valedictorians are named when more than one graduate reaches the academic benchmark. Along with the seven valedictorians, the Class of 2026 top ten included salutatorian Nicole Anyanwu, plus Gabrielle Harris and Guinn Herron. The students represented fields including biochemistry, documentary filmmaking, philosophy, political science, sociology, and sociology and anthropology.

Spelman’s Class of 2026 commencement was held Sunday, May 17, 2026, with Symone Sanders Townsend as the featured speaker. Taken together, the Maryland and Atlanta ceremonies showed two sides of the same story: family sacrifice that gets adults to the finish line, and the academic excellence that can make that finish line historic.