Personal Essay: A trio of Wildcats Mom, Dad and me

Not many students can say that their parents are attending college at the same time they are, and even fewer can say all three are attending the same college.

My unique journey started when my father, mother, and I all decided to attend Wayne State College this fall.

Three Wildcats is much better than only one.

Our Wayne State journey started when my father, Brian, decided to go back to college in August 2019 after his company went through a merger. Job insecurity was a risk and he wanted to make sure he had a proper education to support his family in times of need.

Although he had an Associates Degree of Applied Sciences in accounting from Northeast Community College, higher education was becoming more important and he knew he needed a better degree to keep advancing in society.

When I asked my dad about the challenging aspects of raising a family, working a full-time job and attending college at the same time, he stated, "School is never easy, let alone at 40 years old. It was a very difficult process, but my family helped me every step of the way."

One global pandemic, a graduated senior, and a graduated college student later, my father graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree in business management from Wayne State College. My family and I felt overjoyed with happiness seeing his hard work pay off, despite the third-degree sunburn that I obtained in the Willow Bowl that day.

As he loves continuing education, instead of taking a break, my father decided he wanted to achieve his biggest dreams and get his Masters Degree, so, in the summer of 2022, Dad went back to school to obtain his masters in business. He is currently enrolled in these classes.

Despite the challenges that our family has faced, such as my high school graduation this May, my dad has pursued his degree with the best effort that he could. While working hard during the day, he comes home at night and studies for his many classes. All the pain and struggles will pay off when he graduates from Wayne State, once again.

At this point in time, he has four classes left to complete and he hopes to graduate Magna Cum Laude.

Our second Wildcat legacy continues with my mom, when she decided she would like to earn her degree. Although she had started her Associates Degree at Northeast Community College many years ago, she was unable to finish when my parents married and mom needed to be home to raise her family.

Family life was her greatest accomplishment for many years, and although she loves us more than anything, like us, she, too, has dreams.

In 2022, my mom was inspired by my father and rejoined the collegiate force to obtain her Bachelors Degree from Wayne State College.

"I always told you kids that you had to go to school, so I wanted to make good on my promise and finish my degree," said my mom, Chantel. As she has not been in education for many years, she has been tasting many different subjects before deciding what she would like to major in.

Seeing how many Wayne students are in my family, I was adamant I would not be attending the same college that they were, because I just wouldn't. With this opinion in mind, I visited the University of Nebraska - Omaha, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and University of Nebraska - Kearney, however, none of them made me happy. Each of the schools are great in their own way but none of them made me feel like I was home.

After some convincing from my father, he scheduled a visit for me to his alma mater. Immediately upon my arrival to campus, I felt a sense of home that I had been missing. The counselors, representatives and every other person there made me feel like I was a part of a large family.

Although I already loved the campus, seeing the "murder house" and hearing a criminal justice teacher's assistant talk about how amazing the program was, cemented my idea on where I wanted to spend the next four years. Wayne felt like home, and every single person I encountered treated me like I was a family member and not just another enrollment number.

I left the visit with a large grin, and smirks from my parents. They laughed seeing my excitement, because I always said I would never go to Wayne. I let them have their moment, with my head still in the Wayne clouds, dreaming of my future as a Wildcat. My excitement for the college continued when I found out that I would be receiving the Rural Law Opportunities Scholarship under the direction of J.D. Rachel Kunz, and the Dean of the Criminal Justice Department, Ph.D. Ronald Loggins. They saw my love for my future as a lawyer and made sure that they were supporting me through every step of the way.

The amazement of the college was celebrated with my selection to the Honors Program and the Career Scholars Opportunities Program under Michael Keebler and the Dean of the Criminal Justice program. Although the programs all seemed complicated together, each and every person I encountered within the college was excited for all I was going to achieve. They believed in me every step of the way and made sure I knew that they would always have my back.

Never in a million years would I have believed that I would be attending college at the same time as my parents, let alone, at the exact same college. However, seeing the legacy my dad and my mom created, I can't be anything but proud of the paths they are willing to take to provide for our family. Wayne State is a large part of the woman that I have become, and the one I hope to be.

Wildcat yellow runs in our blood.