17-05-2025
Mother and daughter walk across Le Moyne College graduation stage together
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR) — For the first time in 75 years of commencement ceremonies at Le Moyne College, a mother and daughter received their diplomas together Friday evening.
From diaper changes and bottle-feeding to walking across the same stage, Brandi and Victoria Holzhauer decided to take on one of life's milestones side by side.
'I am super proud as a mother to be just sharing this experience with her,' Brandi said.
Victoria lovingly looked at her mom and agreed. Instead of swapping notes with her dorm classmates, she would look to her mother for academic support while pursuing her Master's in Education.
'Sometimes we could, kind of, share ideas if we were in a project or a research project or something,' Victoria said. 'Like, 'Oh, I'm doing this.' 'I'm doing that.' Kind of nice that someone was going through the same thing that I was.'
The mother-daughter duo made history when they hugged each other and received their diplomas. Brandi Holzhauer, a nursing clinical coordinator at Le Moyne, walked with her daughter and doctoral Ed.D. diploma in hand.
As Brandi took her first steps into adulthood, her mother gave her a message to carry.
'Just be yourself,' she said. 'Be your true self, and I know that true self is a kind, caring person, and that will carry you through your career and carry you through your successes, and hopefully, down the road, you'll get your doctoral degree.'
Le Moyne's undergraduate commencement ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Sunday at the State Fair Expo Center.
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