Mahayana Garcia, left, and her mother, Donna Joy, right, graduated together from the master’s degree program at West Virginia University this month. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — This past August, Shepherdstown resident Donna Joy and her daughter, Mahayana “Maya” Garcia, may have made history when they graduated together with their masters degrees from West Virginia University (WVU).

Garcia graduated with a master’s degree in population health, while Joy graduated with her second master’s degree, this time in economics. For the pair, marking this momentous achievement together was something they will always treasure.

“My mom has so many degrees and I am happy she is finding more ways to learn and expand her skills,” Garcia said. “It is very cool that we are graduating together.”

Garcia had previously earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, with a minor in biology, from Shepherd University. Her mother, on the other hand, held multiple degrees when she enrolled in her most recent program at WVU: bachelor’s degrees in math and elementary education; master’s degrees in special education, experimental psychology and Appalachian studies; and a doctorate in measurement, statistics, research and evaluation.

“I was excited, when I realized we would be graduating at the same time,” Joy said, mentioning she and her daughter have always been close. “I was actually supposed to graduate a year ago, however the director of the program wanted me to switch to the empirical track, which was more computation based. Theoretically, I earned both degrees in political and empirical economics, because I completed the coursework for both.”

She noted that this was not the first time they have attended the same school simultaneously.

“Ironically, we were both at Shepherd at the same time, too. While she was an undergraduate, I took classes for the master of science degree in Appalachian Studies,” Joy said. “I finished a year before her, though, because mine was a two-year program and hers was a four-year-program.”

The two had been planning to participate in the master’s degree program graduation ceremony on Dec. 20 but had their plans cancelled on them, by a snow storm over the weekend in Cleveland, Ohio, where Garcia recently moved. In spite of losing out on that experience together, the pair still recognize that their shared accomplishment was special.

“Growing up, learning was not always easy for me. I struggled with dyslexia and ADHD, but my mom was always there to support me, cheer me on and teach me how to advocate for myself. She has always shown me the value of knowledge and believing in yourself to achieve your goals,” Garcia said. “I have always wanted to get all As in school and I achieved that during my time in the program.”

Joy also earned excellent grades in her program.

“Even more than graduating together, I was excited to learn that we both finished with 4.0 GPAs,” Joy said, noting she was also proud of her daughter, for being presented with the WVU School of Public Health’s Health Policy, Management & Leadership Student Award.

Garcia is now using the knowledge from her graduate degree in a new job on the recently-established Discovery Team at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Her mother, on the other hand, will be applying the knowledge from her most recent graduate degree to her work — both old and new — in West Virginia, as a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education and soon-to-be adjunct economics professor at WVU.

Though this may be the last graduation the pair share, this is far from the last finish line they will cross together — both figuratively and literally.

“The next thing we have planned, which wasn’t planned for schooling, is the Shawshank Redemption 5K in Ohio next summer,” Joy said. “We have ran a lot of races together locally, before she moved for work to Ohio.”