Mother's Day weekend is extra special for one Orangeburg family. They're not just celebrating one college graduation, but three!
Dora Waymer graduated from Claflin University right along side her daughter and son.
She, along with her son Jayson, were part of the very first class to earn their masters degrees in education. Daughter, Maria, received her bachelor's degree in psychology.
"At first, Jayson and I were not going to participate in commencement," said Waymer. "We wanted this to be about her. We have both earned degrees and she is the baby. Somehow it always seemed as if she was in Jayson's shadow because he was the oldest."
After an active athletics career in high school, Jayson earned his bachelor's degree in sport management in 2014 and is currently a a football and basketball coach at Stratford High School.
"It was not easy balancing teaching, coaching and class assignments," he said. "Taking classes online provided me flexibility and I was able to work at my own pace. I am focused on reaching my ultimate goal of becoming an athletic director. Being a former athlete taught me the discipline I needed when you knew you had to get your grades to be eligible to compete on the field," said Jayson. It's very similar. I had to stay focused and resist the temptation to have fun with my friends on the weekend to reach my career goals."
Maria, who started out as biology major at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort, soon returned to Orangeburg and enrolled at Claflin, changing her major to psychology.
"I followed my brother's footsteps in leaving the area and going away to college, "said Maria. "And just like Jayson I came back. For me, it was a case of being homesick."
Despite their concerns of overshadowing, Maria said she is thankful for her mom and big brother who kept her from dropping out and led by example.
"To know my mother is to know she had higher expectations for herself before she had children," said Maria. "She put us ahead of everything else. Celebrating this day together means a lot. This is something she wanted to do before we were born -- now she is doing it with us. I don't believe Jayson and I can give her anything better than this for Mother's Day."
http://abcnews4.com/
Posted By: How May I Help You NC
Tuesday, May 16th 2017 at 10:32AM
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