Latonya Johnson, 43, and Laila Birchett, 21 are celebrating a big milestone together. This mother-daughter pair graduated from college. This accomplishment is made even sweeter because they graduated at the same time.
The graduation ceremony took place on May 12, 2024, which just so happened to be Mother’s Day. It’s like the universe was conspiring to make the day as special as possible. The graduates began their studies at Rutgers University in September 2022.
This whole adventure started out as an idea that Laila came up with. She was studying at Montclair State. Latonya was working full time, raising her six kids, and going to school part time.
Latonya has no regrets. “It’s kind of surreal but it has brought us closer because we connected on a level that I never thought I’d connect with my kids,” she explained. Both women studied in the school of social work but in different areas. Laila’s focus was on helping others, such as the elderly and unhoused through education. Latonya’s focus was on drug and alcohol counseling.
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The women only shared one teacher. They had different classes. This doesn’t mean they didn’t support each other. It was so nice for them to have someone who understood to lean on during their studies.
"There were times when I struggled through school," Laila explained to WABC. "But I always thought if my mom can do it, I can."
Latonya is grateful to Rutgers for accepting and supporting her pursuing her education later in life. “College is my lifeline,” she gushed. "The same way it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to support a nontraditional student."
Professor Dr. Dewayne Battle was proud of both women. It was uplifting for him to watch them support each other. "In some ways, Laila inspired her mom to finish school,” he mused. “Latonya has inspired Laila to be [an] independent person."
Latonya and Laila would have never predicted that things would work out like this, but are so glad they did. They learned so much from each other.
“Her journey has been truly inspiring,” Laila gushed about her mom. “It’s encouraged me to work harder in college.”
"It's such a blessing doing this journey with my daughter," Latonya mused. "I never thought in a million years I'd be graduating with my daughter."
The women are not done yet. They both are continuing their education at Rutgers' Master of Social Work program in fall 2024. This is only the beginning.
