Graduation season is always a special time, though Suzzon Jiles had a particularly memorable 2022 commencement ceremony alongside her daughter, Trinity Jiles.
Both mother and daughter struggled with college life during the pandemic. Suzzon Jiles also had the battle of being a working mother while being a full-time student. On May 12th, Suzzon Jiles & her daughter, Trinity Jiles will be GSU grads. Full article👇 https://t.co/vThMAHuKXa pic.twitter.com/JpCrDHS05D
— Grambling State Univ (@Grambling1901) May 4, 2022
Suzzon and Trinity graduated from Grambling State University together on Thursday, proving that Black excellence is a family affair.
The duo, who hail from Monroe, Louisiana, received bachelor’s degrees in child development and biology.
“Grambling State has changed my life,” Suzzon said. “I’m now educated and soon to be degreed! I have enjoyed every connection I have made here, finding friends for a lifetime and a plethora of knowledge about early childhood education. I’m very much grateful for that.”
“I was inspired to become a child-care worker/owner after being number two of 10 siblings. I helped my mom raise my younger siblings and loved teaching them as well. So, I’ve kind of been doing it most of my life,” she added of her child development degree.
Trinity, who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., also spoke about her accomplishment.
“Coming to this institution has taught me leadership skills, time management, and how to grow as a young adult,” she shared. “It also has taught me how to socialize with people after joining the prestigious sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.”
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for this scholarly mother-daughter duo.
“There were many difficulties I faced working and going to school,” Suzzon noted. “It was overwhelming at times being a wife and a working mother. There were long hours spent studying, not to mention that COVID hit right when I enrolled at Grambling. I never got to enjoy my college experience, and I never even got to tour the campus. But thank God I made it this far, and I will continue.”
“Organic chemistry was very hard for me due to COVID and the classes being 100% online,” Trinity said. “I’m more of a hands-on person. But the faculty and staff helped me tremendously. The biology department at Grambling State University is like family to me.”
Suzzon and Trinity aren’t the only parent-child duo who are receiving their bachelor’s degrees together this graduation season.
As Blavity previously reported, a North Carolina woman named Kenda Butler recently graduated from Central Piedmont Community College alongside two of her daughters, and her son also graduated from high school at the same time.
