Photo courtesy of Midland College.
Mom and son graduate from Midland College on same day
Angelique Davis was a 17-year-old single mom when she started taking classes at Midland College. She wouldn’t complete her degree until 27 years later, but the timing couldn’t have been better.
In May this year, Davis graduated on the same day as her youngest son, Isaiah Ramirez, from MC.
While Davis attempted to earn a college degree at MC as the single mom of her first son Michael, she dropped out after having her second son Steven. Though she felt defeated, she said the opportunity to continue the pursuit of a college degree emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Davis was working from home and her children were grown.
“In May 2023 they both ‘walked the stage’ during the Midland College Commencement Ceremony…”
An advisor at Midland College informed Davis her credits from the 1990s were still valid, so she began taking classes, mostly online. Turns out her son Isaiah, a firefighter with the Midland Fire Department, was enrolled in dual credit Emergency Medical Services courses at MC.
“I remember being so proud of my mom when she decided to start back to school,” Ramirez said. “I admired her motivation, and it rubbed off on me.”
While they were never enrolled in the same class, the mother-son students encouraged each other’s education pursuits. In Fall 2022, they realized they would graduate at the same time.
“In May 2023 they both ‘walked the stage’ during the Midland College Commencement Ceremony at the Al G. Langford Chaparral Center,” the college announced.
Davis, who earned an associates degree in Criminal Justice, is continuing with her sales rep job and will this fall begin pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security and Cybercrime from Sul Ross State University.
Ramirez is a firefighter/paramedic working out of Midland Fire’s Station 2 on the corner of Florida and Terrell streets. In the fall, he will begin taking courses toward a bachelor’s degree in Health & Science from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
For more information, visit MC’s original report on this inspirational story here.
