Couple graduates from Arkansas Tech at the same time as their kids
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark.- Two graduates from Arkansas Tech University share their experience working together as parents to complete their degrees while also helping their family add two more high school graduates to their bunch.
“I wanted our kids to see you can set goals in life, and no matter what happens in your life, as long as you set your mind, say I’m going to complete that, you can do it,” Kecia Watts said.
She and her husband, Steven, are setting an example not just for their kids but for everyone that it is never too late to complete your degree.
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They walked the aisle 15 years ago. Saturday, they both walked the graduation stage at Arkansas Tech University.
“Me and Steven are going to graduate in the same ceremony and it’s just kind of unique how it happened because we both had to take a little break within our studies,” Kecia said.
Steven graduated from Arkansas Tech University, while being in the military, with his undergraduate degree in 2007. He then married Kecia in 2009. Steven then retired from the military in 2017.
Between being a mom and dad to six children and all their hobbies, they still made their education a priority.
“Our kids had basketball, football, travel volleyball, travel baseball, so in between all that, we were doing school online or in class, whatever we could do,” Steven Watts said.
Today, they celebrate not just their joint achievements but also their successes. Kecia graduated with an undergraduate degree in Education, and Steven earned his master’s in education.
“To graduate the same time with your wife and best friend is kind of cool,” Steven Watts said.
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A moment that becomes more special as they share it with two of their six kids.
“It’s really cool just to think about just because, like, we are graduating, it’s a big thing, and they also graduating like it’s just something really cool to look at,” Maddox Watts said.
Maddox Watts will follow in his father’s footsteps and join the U.S. Army after graduating high school, while his sister, Kennedy Watts, will attend the University of Central Arkansas for Radiology.
“We look up to both of them,” Maddox Watts said.
The whole family works hard with pen to paper but also pushes each other in their education journeys.
“I didn’t think I’d ever want to write another paper again or do paperwork or read a book just to read a book that I didn’t even know about, but we actually did it and we pushed each other to do it,” Steven Watts said.
Remembering how when their kids came home from school, they, as parents, would also have homework.
“She’d be sitting on the couch, I’d be in my recliner with our laptops just going,” Steven Watts said.
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