Mother and daughter celebrate graduating from University together
A mother and daughter are celebrating after graduating together from the University of Stirling.
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A mother and daughter are celebrating after graduating together from the University of Stirling.
Vicki Lawlor, 43, and her daughter Hannah, 21, completed their respective degrees in Management and Primary Teaching and graduate this week.
The pair, from Tullibody, are hosting a double celebration to mark their hard work after spending lockdown studying at the dining room table and cheering each other on.
Vicki, a PA and Office Manager, who has worked at the University for twenty years, started her part-time degree in 2015.
She said: “It is a strange sensation to be graduating. While I’m pleased with my own achievement, seeing Hannah graduate makes me feel so incredibly proud of her. It will be an emotional day for lots of reasons.
“It is absolute coincidence that we are graduating together. I studied part-time while working, and took a year out at one point, so it has taken me a little longer than Hannah to complete my degree.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey but it has been amazing to have Hannah by my side and to share similar experiences of meeting deadlines and completing assignments. We made a good team and cheered each other on, especially during lockdown and towards the end, when we were both frantically finishing our dissertations and didn’t move from the dining room table!”
Hannah, who will take up her first teaching job at Menstrie Primary School, Clackmannanshire, in August, said her friends couldn’t believe her mum was also set to graduate. “They were really surprised when I told them we would be graduating together, I don’t think they realised she was studying here too”, she said.
Vicki and Hannah have organised a family garden party to celebrate and although disappointed that the traditional ceremonies can’t go ahead due to COVID restrictions, they are looking forward to marking the occasion at home.
Hannah added: “It is amazing for my grandparents to be able to see not only their grand-daughter reach this milestone, but their daughter too, and on the same day!”
Vicki receives a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Management while Hannah is awarded a Bachelor of Arts with Honours, Professional Education (Primary) with specialism in Literacy.
More than 2,300 students will graduate from the University of Stirling this summer, including from its partnership institutions in Vietnam, Singapore, UAE and Oman. The University announced earlier this year that its in-person graduations in 2021 would be postponed due to COVID-19.