Parents are often children's inspiration when studying. At the same time, parents' inspiration in achieving their goals is usually their children.
Mother and daughter duo from Statesboro is not just each other's inspiration to finish their associate degrees because Audra Lee and her daughter Audra Imani Williams are also partners in school. Just recently, the two virtually graduated from East Georgia State College.
Audra is a single mother who went back to school while juggling work and taking care of her children.
A mother's journey
For more than a decade, Audra has been balancing her family, work, and school. In 1993, she first got her certificate in Information and Office Technology. Afterward, she worked at the Vidalia Police Department.
Her job at the police department sparked her interest in criminal justice; thus, she pursued to have a diploma in Criminal Justice Technology in 2004.
Audra knew that she needed a job that could support her family, considering that she is a single mother. That is why when an opportunity knocked her way, in 2007, she started working at Pineland Telephone as a receptionist. However, her interest is still in criminal justice. While working as a Customer Experience Associate, she also finished her associate degree in Criminal Justice in 2012.
Audra loves putting herself up for challenges. Even with several associate degrees, the single mom once again decided to go back to college to finish another associate degree. Although this time, Audra went back for a different reason. In an article published by East Georgia State College, she shared that she returned to college for herself and not for anyone else. Audra said that her reason for going to school before was for her to give her children a better life. She added, "This is something I wanted to do. I knew that my daughter was going to graduate soon."
A daughter's partner is her mom
Instead of feeling pressured that her mom was her college buddy, Audra Imani used this opportunity to be more inspired by her mom. They often have the same professors or the same class. That is something that kept them motivated in the long run.
Imani thinks her mom is remarkable for trying to get her to school while working at the same time.
Mother and daughter duo graduates
Audra and Imani learned that they were graduating at the same time this Spring. That was something that they have been looking forward to ever since receiving the news.
However, the COVID-19 crisis changed the plans of the mother and daughter. The traditional ceremony was canceled, and the two joined a virtual ceremony instead. Still, this did not stop Audra and Imani from celebrating. They made sure they have a local photographer with them to have a photo taken of their momentous event.
The two are still planning to return in Fall. They would still want to walk together in a traditional graduation ceremony because, for them, this may only happen once.
Audra is still going to pursue her job as a customer experience associate. Though in the future, she would like to finish a bachelor's degree in Psychology.
