Mother and daughter to graduate from University of North Texas together Saturday
DENTON, Texas - A mother and daughter will be celebrating a huge milestone on Saturday that they achieved together.
Both went to the University of North Texas for some higher education, and now, their hard work is paying off.
Saturday is graduation day for both of them.
"We are getting the exact, identical degree. We took every single class together, every lab, all two years were completely together," Kathy Earhart said.
Kathy and her daughter, Emma, while keeping their relationship low profile, did college undergrad together at UNT.
And Saturday morning, they will graduate together.
"A lot of kids told me, I would love for my mom to come with me, I wish my mom would go back. So all the moms, I hope they’ll go back," Kathy said.
FOX 4 first met the Earharts in 2019 and followed them on a campus tour when they enrolled at UNT.
Their journey has not been without adversity.
Kathy went through surgeries and divorce.
Emma navigated a cancer scare and the challenges that accompanied her parents’ divorce.
"But you know, I did it! I did the schooling, I did the work. I’ve learned a lot from the hardest stuff I’ve gone through," Emma said.
"I’ve always said, and I’ve tried to tell Emma through the years, that bad things are going to happen, life happens and you can either quit or you can keep going," Kathy said.
And to keep going is their mantra.
With bachelor degrees in biology, they’ll take a brief summer break, then begin a yearlong MCAT prep. The ultimate goal is becoming medical doctors.
"Hopefully we would start a Master’s program next summer and then immediately graduate from that and go straight into medical school and do for years, then residency," Kathy said.
[REPORTER: "Here’s the loaded question. Who got the better GPA?"]
"I have a 3.84," Kathy answered.
"I have a 3.71," Emma responded.
No competition, of course.
"It’s flown by and I’m definitely glad I’m going to do more schooling because that’s what I love. I love to learn," Emma said.
"It’s a good feeling knowing that we did it, I started this plan and I finished it and that there’s more to come," Kathy added.