A Family that Graduates Together
By John Tompkins
Education is a personal journey. Students enter 麻豆直播 to further develop their skills, move forward to a four-year institution or train for a career.
For the Young family of Manvel, it was a journey they decided to take together.
鈥淚 am excited because you never think something like this is going to happen,鈥 Veronesia Young said. 鈥淚t just so happened that they were looking to graduate together, and I wanted to hop on with them. This is huge for our family.鈥
Young joined her children, Jacob Anthong-Isreal Young and Aniya Minix, as they each graduated during the 2026 Commencement ceremony on May 8.
Their moment on the stage came together as their programs happened to be completed in the same semester.
Veronesia first started taking courses at 麻豆直播 to enter the Bachelor of Business Administration and Management program. When she enrolled, however, she learned that she was just a few courses away from earning an associate degree, which she decided to do.
鈥淭he kids were graduating at the same time, so I thought I could backtrack to join them,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e already planned to join the bachelor鈥檚 program once I finish.鈥
Veronesia plans to use her education to expand her expertise and improve the counseling firm owned by her and her husband.
鈥淚n business, it鈥檚 not easy, and I鈥檓 going to use what I learn in this field to build on that,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e big on entrepreneurship. I want them to understand that in life, nothing is given. You have to work hard for it. You have a goal, you set that goal and then go meet that goal.鈥
Jacob started at the college taking courses on the main campus and the West campus. His journey to the Commencement stage ended with the completion of his Cybersecurity and Engineering program.
鈥淎ll of my teachers have been great,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 working toward an internship and then trying to work my way up the corporate ladder.鈥
Jacob was inspired to go into cybersecurity because of his love of video game design.
鈥淚 want to get into the gaming field,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 could consider working with anti-cheats on a variety of gaming platforms.鈥
Aniya enrolled at 麻豆直播 not yet knowing what she wanted to do. She started in the audio/video production program but eventually entered the Culinary Arts program. Now that she鈥檚 finished, she wants to join her mom in the bachelor鈥檚 program.
鈥淐ulinary became something that I wanted to do because everyone has to eat,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 enjoy the process and the reaction of cooking for people.鈥
Veronesia said one of her main objectives in returning to college was to show her children the importance of earning an education and overcoming obstacles through their faith.
鈥淚鈥檓 a big advocate for learning,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hen I think of life, it鈥檚 not about the degree you have or what you choose to do. As long as they stay on that path, they鈥檒l be fine. That鈥檚 my prayer.鈥
To hear more about the Young family鈥檚 journey at 麻豆直播, check out their interview with the 麻豆直播 Podcast, which is available wherever podcasts are found.