One mother, two daughters, three institutions, three graduates, the Kelly family of Starkville has a lot to celebrate this month.
Christine Kelly received her doctorate in nutrition from Mississippi State University and her daughters Yolanda Kelly and Tiffany Kelly also graduated, Yolanda Kelly from The University of Mississippi and Tiffany Kelly from Starkville High School.
“It’s a great feeling, a great experience to have all of us graduating at the same time, not really realizing that we would,” said Christine Kelly, a researcher at the Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory. “I knew that Yolanda and Tiffany would graduate (together), four years apart, but I was kind of working on my degree along with them, so we were all together finishing what we had started some time ago.”
She said she delayed her degree by a little bit, once she realized she could graduate at the same time as her daughters.
Yolanda Kelly, who received her bachelor’s in criminal justice from Ole Miss and is considering law school, said she was raised to value education. She said many of her family members held advanced degrees or taught school.
“My mama was always a great example about going to college and getting an education, and my family and her always drilled it into my head that I was going to get an education,” Yolanda Kelly said.
She said her grandparents, though uneducated themselves, pushed particularly hard for her and the rest of the family to go to college and advance their education.
“They always said you could never know too much, once you had an education no one could take it from you, once you know it, you know it,” Yolanda Kelly said. “They always talked to us about school and education.”
Yolanda also said she was open to working in the criminal justice field, either before or in lieu of law school.
Tiffany Kelly also discussed her grandparents’ influence. However, she said it was mostly secondhand for her, since her grandparents died early in her life. She said her mom and older sister always pushed her to do well in school.
“They’ve been a huge example,” Tiffany Kelly said. “I look up to them. They’ve always set a good example. I have aunts and uncles, and they all went to college.”
Tiffany Kelly plans to go to MSU as a fashion design and merchandising major.
“It’s probably going to be a challenge, but I know can get through it,” Tiffany Kelly said. “My sister gave me some advice, 'When it’s getting hard, keep going and get your education.”’
“We were planning a trip in the mountains, or just some celebration that we would all get together and do,” Christine Kelly said.
Christine Kelly also said she was proud to see her daughters graduate, regardless of whether she was graduating or not.
“It’s just beyond words can express, the feeling to see my daughters graduate and to be a part of the celebration with them” Christine Kelly said. “It’s just a great feeling to know that they have made another milestone, and will be turning to another chapter in their lives.”
Yolanda Kelly emphasized the importance of the three graduating together, and the importance of her mother's support to the her and Tiffany Kelly.
"It's always been just us three," Yolanda Kelly said," For it to be just us three in this moment makes the moment even better."