Three sisters graduate together: Susan Mayfield (left),
Janice Mayfield Johnson (top) and Michele Mayfield
Durham
Commencement Memories: Sisters master their educational destiny
(Dec. 10, 2001)--It's said that the third time's the charm, and the story of three UTSA graduate students -- all sisters -- would seem to make it so.
The trio will each complete a master's degree at the same time this semester and in the same field of study, counseling. San Antonians Susan Mayfield, 44, Michele Mayfield Durham, 38, and Janice Mayfield Johnson, 33, began their endeavor three years ago, when one of Janice's daughters was only 19 months old and one of Michele's daughters, just 10 days!
They started out with one course to test the waters, and the outcome proved so positive, the sisters moved up to taking two classes at a time. The three are part of a family of eight siblings, total, born to a military family. Their father, now deceased, served in the armed forces for 25 years. Their mother was a hardworking homemaker who also had a degree in upholstery science.
Michele and Susan say it was Janice, the No. 8 child, who was instrumental in getting them to enroll and see the quest through. The pair credit Janice with doing all the required leg work: getting transcripts mailed off and forms turned in by the deadlines and registering the three by telephone each semester. And always, she kept abreast of the next step required. Janice's sisters often thanked her with dinner out on the town.
This story is all the more remarkable since Janice once thought she would never go to college. A teenage mother before she completed high school, she did not start her college career until five years after she graduated. She earned an associate's degree at St. Philip's College -- the same school attended by her father and from which her mother had earned her degree.
Janice went on to complete her undergraduate degree at UTSA, becoming certified to teach pre-K through 6th grade. She is now the mother of three daughters, including one born during graduate school.
Susan, the No. 4 child, was the first in the family ever to complete a baccalaureate degree, in computer science in 1979. She enjoyed a successful career in that field, working with the government and traveling coast-to-coast for more than 20 years. But, she was ready for a change and the challenge of graduate school.
The sixth Mayfield child, Michele was born in France and is now executive director of a non-profit agency that helps individuals and families infected with HIV and AIDS. She completed her undergraduate degree in accounting at Lamar University. Michele undertook graduate school with her sisters in a sense of sibling competition. In spite of having a full-time job and giving birth to her sixth child during graduate school at UTSA, Michele maintained the highest overall GPA of the three sisters.
The Mayfield sisters say they have an even deeper connection to one another through their joint educational experience, as well as a sense of accomplishment. They say it was not easy but it was very enjoyable and enlightening for them all. And the very best part is, they did it together.
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2001