Mother and Son Graduate College Together After Competing for Higher GPAs: 'Now I Owe Him $500!'
Maureen Fogarty and Timothy Ozminkowski received their respective diplomas from Fox Valley Technical College on May 19
A mother and son just graduated from the same Wisconsin school on the very same day!
Maureen Fogarty and her son Timothy Ozminkowski were among hundreds of graduates who received their diploma from Fox Valley Technical College on Sunday, May 19, according to NBC affiliate WGBA-TV and CBS affiliate WFRV.
Ozminkowski received a degree in software development, according to WFRV. His mother earned one in nursing, ABC affiliate WBAY-TV reported.
Fogarty said she and her son were even competing with each other to see who could graduate with a higher grade-point average. Her son won, but just barely.
“He beat me by .2 on the grade point average. Now I owe him $500!" Fogarty told WGBA-TV.
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Up until recently, Fogarty and Ozminkowski had no idea they were going to graduate together.
Ozminkowski transferred to Fox Valley after taking English at University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, according to WGBA-TV.
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Meanwhile, his mother went back to school to become a nurse, a goal she set for herself when she was 12 years old. But “the timing was never right,” she said.
About a year after the mother and son began classes at Fox Valley, they realized graduating together was a possibility. “It was kind of really funny when it came together," Fogarty explained.
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Now, Fogerty plans to enter the nursing field, while her son plans to move to Hawaii for a job in coding, according to WBAY-TV.
“I’m so excited, I’m more excited for him than I am for myself,” Fogerty told WFRV. “I mean he’s young he’s got his whole life ahead of him, but he’s my son I’m just extremely proud and happy for him.”
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Ozminkowski is also proud of his mom, telling WFRV that "she inspired me."
“I know how long it’s taken for her to get to this point taking care of my family and everything like that,” Ozminkowski said. “She’s had to go to school like off and on for a few years now, so it’s been a long road, but we finally made it, it’s very exciting.”
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