{"id":23482,"date":"2022-05-12T13:42:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T17:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2022\/05\/12\/mother-and-daughter-graduate-together\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:32:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:32:21","slug":"mother-and-daughter-graduate-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/05\/12\/mother-and-daughter-graduate-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother and Daughter Graduate Together"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Daughter<\/a>

Eudania-Chucha Aquino and Eugenia Hernandez-Gomez on Graduation Day<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Mom<\/a>

Eudania-Chucha Aquino and Eugenia Hernandez-Gomez<\/p><\/div>\n

Haverhill, MA (May 10, 2022) \u2013 When Eudania-Chucha Aquino of Lawrence was just 8 years old, she made a bold prediction: \u201cI said mom, we\u2019re going to graduate college together.\u201d Her mother, Eugenia Hernandez-Gomez wasn\u2019t so sure \u201cI said \u2018what are you talking about?\u2019 It was a joke.\u201d But now, 22 years later, that prediction is coming true. This Saturday at Northern Essex Community College\u2019s 60th Commencement ceremony, mother and daughter will walk together. Eugenia will receive her associate degree in Human Services<\/a>, and Chucha will receive her certificate in the same field.<\/p>\n

The journey to this point contained many twists and turns for both mother and daughter. Hernandez-Gomez, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, first came to NECC to get her G.E.D. when she was 19 in 1994. She then enrolled in the ESL program<\/a> in 1997 but couldn\u2019t finish due to family commitments and financial aid issues. After nearly a decade away, Hernandez-Gomez, decided to try again. She re-enrolled in the ESL program in 2006 with the goal of getting her nursing degree<\/a>. Still, she struggled, especially with writing in English. \u201cI got so frustrated because I\u2019d been in school for a long time,\u201d she remembered. \u201cOne time, I brought a paper to the writing center again and again. I had to do it many times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hernandez-Gomez persevered, with Aquino right by her side. \u201cShe would come to me at home and say, \u2018I don\u2019t know how to read this, what do I do?\u2019 And I was not allowing her to give up and get discouraged,\u201d says her daughter. Aquino graduated from Lawrence High School with high honors in 2009. She was accepted to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she planned to study to be a veterinarian. However, a health issue made her decide to stay closer to home. She enrolled at NECC as a Liberal Arts<\/a> major but had trouble finding her footing. \u201cI got into sort of the same pattern as my mom where the classes were becoming hard, dropping and withdrawing and getting incompletes became a pattern that I needed to get a hold of,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

So, what changed to get them over the finish line? Both mother and daughter credit student support services and the encouragement of their professors. After taking a year off to work, Aquino came back to NECC to study to become a behavioral therapist and found her calling. \u201cLittle did I know I would meet [professors] Brian McKenna-Rice and Lisa Fabbi-Lopez who just captivated my mind in Human Services.\u201d Hernandez-Gomez also realized her passion for Human Services and switched her major from nursing. She\u2019s already found a job as a family advocate, which she says she loves.<\/p>\n

\"Chucha<\/a>

Chucha works as an NECC Student Ambassador, helping to connect fellow students with support services.<\/p><\/div>\n

Aquino is currently working to help other students succeed as a student ambassador. The Student Ambassador program<\/a> started in the fall of 2019 and provides peer support to students when they need help with a wide range of issues. \u201cI look at it now, had I had an ambassador when I began my journey in 2009, I would have had my degree by now.\u201d Aquino will continue to work as an ambassador through the fall, when she will complete her associates degree in Human Services. Mom says it\u2019s almost like she<\/em> predicted this outcome: \u201cWhen I was 35 years old, I thought \u2018I need to work at Northern Essex, I need to help students to keep going and finish school.\u2019 And now she\u2019s working there helping students!\u201d<\/p>\n

Aquino hopes to continue helping students by working in the NECC Academic Coaching Center<\/a> after she graduates. Hernandez-Gomez plans to continue her work as a family advocate but hints that she might want to pursue her bachelor\u2019s degree eventually. For now, they\u2019re both excited for Commencement and to celebrate their double accomplishment with their family. Said Hernandez-Gomez, \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about this thing for years and years and it\u2019s like oh my god I\u2019m done!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Haverhill, MA (May 10, 2022) \u2013 When Eudania-Chucha Aquino of Lawrence was just 8 years old, she made a bold prediction: \u201cI said mom, we\u2019re going to graduate college together.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":25299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19,20],"tags":[203,321,585],"class_list":["post-23482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","category-students","tag-dominican-diaspora","tag-human-services","tag-students"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMother and Daughter Graduate Together - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/05\/12\/mother-and-daughter-graduate-together\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mother and Daughter Graduate Together - 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