Former Teen Mom's Daughter Graduates Nursing School Exactly 13 Years After Her — and Credits Her Mom

“She gave me everything I needed to make sure I’m successful,” says Chaquita Bandy

From being an impoverished teen mom in rural North Carolina to watching her daughter graduate from a nursing program she created, Dorothy Miller has come a long way.

Exactly 13 years to the day after she received her own nursing degree, Miller watched with pride as her eldest daughter, Chaquita Bandy, graduated from St. Andrews University on May 7.

Miller — who serves as the St. Andrews University Department Chair of Health Services in Laurinburg — credits her own mom, Ruby Bandy, for putting a high priority on education. At 15 years old, Miller, then a student, gave birth to her first daughter on a Friday — and her mom insisted that the North Carolina high school freshman was back at school on Monday.

"My mother had to stop going to school when she was in the third grade because she had to go work on the farms," Miller, 56, tells PEOPLE. "She knew that education would be the vehicle that would take me to a better future."

Related: Florida Mom of 7 Graduates College as Class Valedictorian with Perfect GPA: 'Incredibly Honored'

Miller said that her mom was disappointed when the teenager became pregnant, but she was determined to not let it derail her daughter's future.

"She lived to see me become a registered nurse," Miller says. "I wish she could have been here physically to see that grandbaby she helped raised become a registered nurse as well, but Chaquita and I felt mom smiling and beaming down on us at her graduation."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Growing up, Miller knew she wanted to become a nurse.

“I imagined myself working in a hospital and taking care of people at the bedside,” Miller wrote in a 2022 blog post for the school. “I knew it would be a tough battle to become a nurse. Firstly, I did not personally know anyone that was a nurse. I was not great in math or science and my high school counselor told me that because of my grades, I would never become a nurse.”

"As my high school counselor mentioned, the odds were definitely against me,” Miller wrote. “Fortunately, I was born with tenacity and the unmitigated audacity to refuse to give up.”

She knew education was a ticket out of poverty for both her and her baby.

"Domestic abuse, sexual abuse and poverty seems to be constant bedfellows and I experienced all three growing up," Miller tells PEOPLE. "My way of escape was reading. I read everything I could get my hands on. Reading created a window of escape as I would often fantasize about what life would be like outside my rural and impoverished community."

Miller went on to get her associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s, a PhD and then another master’s.

She also served in the U.S. Army from 1995 to 2001. Her mother cared for Chaquita, who was 5 at the time Miller enlisted, during Miller’s period of service.  When she got out of the military, she knew it was finally time to pursue nursing.

Miller, currently running for a seat on the North Carolina Board of Nursing, went on to work as a nurse for seven years before she switched to an academic career in health care. 

Related: Texas Mom, Dad and Daughter All Graduate from College at the Same Time: 'Surreal'

Miller launched the first nursing school at St. Andrews in 2021. Not only was her daughter Bandy in the first graduating class, but her name was also the first one called during the May 7 ceremony.

“She gave me everything I needed to make sure I’m successful,” Bandy, 41, told NBC affiliate WRAL-TV. “You can imagine the pressure, though, coming through a program that was just established by your mother, being the first one to graduate."

Related: Woman Gives Birth and Receives Doctorate Within Space of 24 Hours: 'Just Felt Like a Superhero'

Bandy currently works in the intensive care unit at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst. Like her mother, her goal is to make sure patients get the best care possible. And she encourages others to never stop pursuing their dreams.

"A person’s walk of life is not linear and sometimes you veer off course," Bandy tells PEOPLE. "But despite your missteps, you have to trust that God knows your purpose and path — and he will get you to where you supposed to be."

It’s rewarding for Miller to see her child follow in her footsteps after being the driving force behind Miller’s own successful career.

“I think if I hadn’t been given the opportunity to have that child, I wouldn't have accomplished what I did,” Miller says. “By having her, it pushed me to something outside of me that I could have a better future for her.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.