It was double pleasure and double fun for Denise Bitner and her 25-year old daughter, Stacey, at the University of Houston-Clear Lake’s December Commencement Ceremony, as the two women walked across stage to receive diplomas from the university’s School of Education. For Denise, the occasion was a personal triumph marking the end of a seven-and-a-half-year pursuit of her long-held dream to complete an education placed on hold. It was also a moment filled with pride as she watched her daughter receive the diploma for a second advanced degree.

With hard-earned diploma in hand, Denise returned to her seat and pulled her camera out.

“I get to be Mom now,” she said, snapping photos of Stacey up on stage.

For daughter Stacey, though, the night was all Mom.

“My focus was on her. It was really exciting to see my mom finally get to finish. I wasn’t going to ‘walk’ (attend) since I had already done it; but I wanted to do it for my mom – to make it special for her.”

The day was special for the 47-year old UH-Clear Lake graduate who has worked as activity bookkeeper for the Alvin Independent School District for 18 years. Members of the Alvin High School Band surprised Denise early in the morning with a cake, balloons, and a “Pomp and Circumstance” serenade.  Coworkers treated her to dinner the night before, and family and friends learning of the impending event showed up in force at the ceremony to help celebrate. It was a fitting end to a long, hard haul.

Denise and husband, Bert, met while attending high school in Alvin. The couple married young and for a while both attended Alvin Community College, but when the couple moved to Nacogdoches, Denise placed her education on hold to work full time. She soon became a mom, too, and Stacey, just two weeks old, was a special guest at her father’s graduation. Twenty-five years later, she was a special participant at her mother’s.

Denise always believed in the importance of an education and that a person could never be too old to get one. So when her daughter began studying for an undergraduate degree in 2000, Mom did too, signing up for a single course a semester. Stacey completed her undergraduate degree in special education at Texas A&M at about the same time that Denise completed her associate’s degree at Alvin Community College.

At one point, Stacey, Denise and son, Jarrod, were all living together and attending college at the same time.

“I remember thinking I’ll be so glad when everybody is finished with school,” says Denise. “That’s all we do. Our lives center around who has a test; who has a paper to write. My son would say, ‘Mom, will you read over my paper,’ and I’d say, “I’m trying to write a paper myself.”

Stacey admits it was sometimes hard, too, when her Mom would ask for help. “Now, Mother,” Denise says her daughter would tell her, “I don’t have time to help you.”

“We got frustrated with each other sometimes,” Stacey admits.

But Denise hung in, gradually bumping up her load to a full four courses a semester.

“It takes focus and a real support system at home,” she says, citing the encouragement she received from her husband as making it possible.  “The people I work with were wonderful, and encouraging, too.”

Denise says she felt an obligation as an older student.

“I always studied harder. When the kids would study two hours, I’d study eight. I wanted to do it right.” It was a little disheartening at time, though. “I might be the first one to turn in an assignment, but the last one to turn in a test.”

Denise received a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies EC-4 Generalist, but her full-time work schedule at the school district didn’t allow her time to perform a teaching internship. Instead she will complete alternative certification this next year, and she hopes to begin teaching first or second grade in the fall 2008 semester.

Both Denise and Stacey cite their work teaching Sunday School classes at First Baptist Church of Rosharon as inspiration for their love of working with children.

Stacey received her Master of Science in Reading during the ceremony. She had already received her Master of Science in School Library and Information Sciences from UH-Clear Lake, and currently works as a Reading Recovery teacher for Alvin Independent School District. She also serves as librarian at her church.

Denise says she hopes her story will encourage other women. “If it helps one woman to make the decision to go back…You’re never too old to go back to school.”