Mother and Daughter Celebrate Mother’s Day
by Graduating Together at C.W. Post

May 5, 2003 - Brookville, NY - Not many mothers and daughters get to go to college together, let alone graduate on the very same day. But for Katie Campbell, who will receive her bachelor of fine arts in electronic media, and her mom Debbie Campbell, who will receive a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in leadership and administration in education, Mother’s Day will also be their joint graduation from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville.

Debbie, a registered nurse, has worked in C.W. Post’s Student Health and Counseling Center for six years and recently began teaching an introductory one-credit Freshman 101 class. Prior to earning her master’s degree, she received a bachelor’s degree in health education from C.W. Post in 2002. So even as a high school student, Katie was familiar with the campus as the place where her mom worked and studied.

Katie began attending C.W. Post as well, but her mother finished her bachelor’s degree a year before Katie was ready to graduate. Debbie said, "People would say it was too bad that we were not graduating together and then I thought, ‘Hey, why not?’" Since she knew she would need a master’s degree to pursue her goal of teaching, Debbie registered for 24 credits the summer of 2002. She balanced a full course load with her job as a nurse at C.W. Post, per diem work at Long Island Jewish Hospital, and caring for her three children.

Katie enjoyed seeing her mother on campus. It was convenient—especially the time she hurt her leg and had to be rushed to the hospital. She would often visit her mom’s office or go to the gym with her. "Sometimes it was the only time we’d talk for the day," she said.

Katie spent her first year at C.W. Post commuting from their Long Island home. The next few semesters, she dormed and even became a resident assistant. After graduation, she hopes to become a newscaster. She may return to school to earn a master’s degree in criminal justice.

Debbie and her husband James will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in October, and they just might have another daughter on campus soon enough. Kristina, 17, is looking into coming to C.W. Post, too. And who knows? Youngest son James, 11, is an aspiring actor and could someday be a theatre major at the campus.

Debbie and Katie Campbell will be among more than 1,600 students who will don their caps and gowns on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, 2003 for 45th annual commencement exercises of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. The campus has awarded more than 85,000 degrees in its 49-year history, through a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs. For additional information, call the Office of Public Relations at (516) 299-2333.