{"id":1435,"date":"2017-07-05T18:41:27","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T18:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=1435"},"modified":"2025-02-13T12:16:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T17:16:52","slug":"graduating-with-her-bff-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2017\/07\/05\/graduating-with-her-bff-mom\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduating with Her BFF\/Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column1435_52fb68-ec dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.kb-image1435_cea964-28 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1435_cea964-28 alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"807\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/MotherDaughterFurman-1024x807-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-16362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/MotherDaughterFurman-1024x807-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/MotherDaughterFurman-1024x807-1-250x197.png 250w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/MotherDaughterFurman-1024x807-1-609x480.png 609w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/MotherDaughterFurman-1024x807-1-768x605.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Best friends graduating together is always special. But it\u2019s even more poignant when those best friends happen to be mother and daughter. That\u2019s the case with Michelle and Erin Furman, who wore the green cap and gown at Wilmington University\u2019s spring commencement in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to enrolling at WilmU in 2015, both had earned associate degrees from Delaware Technical Community College \u2014 mother Michelle in Human Services and daughter Erin in Elementary Education. After getting her Del-Tech degree, Erin says, \u201cI knew I wanted to transfer as a junior to Wilmington University to get my bachelor\u2019s degree and certification to teach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michelle, meanwhile, was thinking about going back to school. Erin gave her a gentle nudge. \u201cI was able to convince her to apply for the same semester I did.\u201d&nbsp; So, it came to pass: Michelle enrolled in Behavioral Sciences and Erin in Elementary Education K-6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI had a goal set to graduate in May 2017, and my mom just paced herself to do what she could,\u201d says Erin. \u201cIt became evident about a year ago that if she scheduled her classes correctly, we could graduate together. She\u2019s my best friend and I wanted nothing more than to graduate at the same time as her, so I pushed her to keep up with her classes so we could stay on track together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like many WilmU students, both held full-time jobs. Erin worked at McDonald\u2019s and then at a day-care center before qualifying for the University\u2019s year-long residency program, when she began teaching at Cedar Lane Elementary School in Middletown. Michelle holds two positions at an alternative high school in the Middletown area, where she is a counselor and aids in transitioning students back to their home schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both mother and daughter feel well qualified for a career in education, thanks to WilmU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide wu-blockquote-row is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote wu-blockquote-simple is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019ve been offered so many opportunities through WilmU. I feel much more prepared for my career than many of my peers who are going for the same degree.\u201d<\/p>\n<cite>\u2014 Erin Furman<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Michelle, who took many of her classes online because of her work schedule, says she had \u201cgreat instructors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese classes require a lot of work,\u201d she says, \u201cbut the instructors are usually readily available to assist us when we need extra help. They made the classes more enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ultimate moment for both, of course, was the commencement ceremony in May. Interviewed for this story some weeks prior to that event, Erin ticked off the family members scheduled to attend: \u201cMy dad, my sister and brother, my mom\u2019s parents, her sister, my dad\u2019s mother and his two brothers mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s going to be emotional.\u201d WU\u00ad<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Best friends graduating together is always special. But it\u2019s even more poignant when those best friends happen to be mother and daughter. That\u2019s the case&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[145,135],"tags":[653],"class_list":["post-1435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-news","category-magazine","tag-magazine-summer-2017"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":145,"label":"ALUMNI NEWS"},{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":653,"label":"Magazine Summer 2017"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Rachel Marchione","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/rachel\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":145,"name":"ALUMNI NEWS","slug":"alumni-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":702,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":113,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":145,"category_count":113,"category_description":"","cat_name":"ALUMNI NEWS","category_nicename":"alumni-news","category_parent":0},{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":653,"name":"Magazine Summer 2017","slug":"magazine-summer-2017","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1210,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":18,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1435"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16363,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1435\/revisions\/16363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}