Mom and son to graduate from TCU together this Mother's Day weekend
It's going to be an especially memorable Mother's Day weekend for a mother and son duo graduating together from Texas Christian University.
Brandi and Kyle Fields will walk across the same stage Friday night, both wearing matching purple Nikes, during TCU's first-ever commencement ceremony solely for graduate students.
"When we found out the graduate programs were in the same ceremony, that's when it really hit home that we were going to really, truly be doing this together," said Brandi Fields, 50, who is earning her Executive MBA.
Her 22-year-old son, Kyle Fields, is receiving a Master of Liberal Arts degree.
"When she was deciding to come back to school, especially at TCU, I couldn't be more excited," Kyle said.
The Fields have always been a close family. Kyle moved to Fort Worth for his undergraduate degree at TCU, and not long after, Brandi, her husband, and younger son followed from California.
"I think more of my friends were like, 'Oh no, Kyle is going to kill you. First you're moving there, now you're going to his school,'" Brandi said, laughing.
But Kyle never minded. He said it made him proud.
"When I see her come home from work and she's doing her homework right away, I'm like, I've got to follow in her footsteps," he said.
Brandi said watching her son succeed in graduate school gave her a new appreciation for him as well.
"When you see him like adulting and doing all the things, I'm like, wow," she said. "That's what really brought it home for me — like, we're really doing this together. So it made me even more proud to be able to experience this part of it."
Brandi plans to use her MBA to grow at her current job and hopes to inspire other mothers to invest in themselves, no matter their age.
"I think that's important for moms — that we still have to be taking care of ourselves and continuing to grow and challenge ourselves," she said. "So I would say just do it, you know?"
Kyle agrees.
"I'm super glad that she did, because it's a special moment," he said. "Not everybody gets to say that they were able to go to school at the same time as their mom, especially at a master's degree level."
After the ceremony, the Fields will celebrate both of their accomplishments, and then Mother's Day.
"Me, my dad, my little brother, we'll do everything we can to make her feel as relaxed as possible," Kyle said.
Brandi and Kyle will walk the stage Friday night.
The ceremony will also include an honorary doctorate presentation to filmmaker and producer Taylor Sheridan for his contributions to the arts and the film industry in the greater Fort Worth area.
