Usually the graduate’s mother would be sitting in the stands beaming with pride and congratulating her daughter on receiving her undergraduate degree. But for one Jackson State University senior, she and her mother stood next to each other in the commencement line.
Erica Steele received her degree in social work, and her daughter, Armetha Steele, obtained a criminal justice degree earlier this month at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center. Both were excited about each other’s accomplishments.
“I feel excited to graduate with my mom. She has been through so much, as a mother and provider,” Armetha Steele said. “It makes me feel happy. I believe if she can do it, anyone can. I’m proud of her.”
Erica said taking the commencement stage with her daughter gave her “unspeakable joy.”
“I don’t feel as if I am just graduating with one daughter but with all my children,” the Jackson native said. “The most exciting part about graduation is that I have reached a milestone. It’s now my testimony. Through faith, what I hoped for had been reached.”
Erica Steele’s oldest daughter, Erica Steele-Washington, also graduated from JSU in 2004, and for a time she was at JSU with her younger sister and mother. They shared some of the same classmates and instructors.
