During graduation season, a Mississippi family had a blast. This is due to the fact that three of them received their degrees at the same time.
The Mississippi State University-Meridian awarded Commondre Cole, 45, and his two adult children, Ja’Coby Cole, 25, and Iesha Gully, 27, master’s degrees in education.
Commondre’s mother, Mary Cole, couldn’t help but be proud, and understandably so, so she posted about it on social media. ‘They’re all mine!’ exclaims the narrator. ‘They nailed it!!’ Mary shared a video and photographs with her friends on Facebook.
Commondre enjoys re-watching the video of the ceremony since he and his children were able to walk across the stage to get their degrees. ‘I enjoy going to see the video. I was the first to arrive. Cole came in second, and Iesha came in third. He told FOX Television Stations, ‘That was a fantastic time.’
The trio is made up of educators. At MSU-spring Meridian’s commencement, all three were among the 153 graduates. Commondre works at Northwest Middle School as a health teacher. At Oakland Heights Elementary, Ja’Coby teaches physical education. The Meridian Public School District is located to those schools.
Iesha Gully, a second-grade inclusion teacher at Northeast Elementary in the Lauderdale County School District, is not to be outdone.
Lesha explained, ‘We were taking some of the same classes.’ ‘So we were studying together, trying to prepare for midterms and final exams…at the end of the day, it was a blessing.’ The family competed in a cordial manner while supporting one another in their pursuit of their degrees.
‘Family comes first,’ Ja’Coby stated. ‘You’ve got to have someone keeping an eye on you at all times.’ MSU-Meridian offers site-based credit, non-credit education, and distance learning classes, which was perfect for the family.
Jessica Gully-Cole, Commondre’s wife, is also a teacher. She was the one who persuaded him to return to school and finish his degree.
He told WTOK-TV, ‘Really, my wife, she already has her specialist.’ ‘She suggested that you return to school with the kids.’ I chose to return with them, and we were successful, and now we’re all walking together.’
Iesha was the first to attend, and she begun her studies in the fall of 2020. In the spring of the next year, her father and brother came to live with her.
Ja’Coby was a sports fan, thus he never saw himself as a teacher. Regardless of his reservations or expectations, he is proud to be in the same profession as his parents and sister.
Ja’Coby realized he needed a back-up plan, so he decided to follow in their footsteps. The MSU Riley Center hosted this year’s graduating exercises. That’s fantastic news as the pandemic forced the same event to be held remotely for the past two years.
