By Brady Reeves
Kerrie and Sarah Michael have always found ways to move through life together, whether golfing on a women’s league team at the Dysart Golf Club or lingering over meals where the conversation can stretch for hours.
But neither expected they would one day graduate from the University of Northern Iowa on the same day: Kerrie with a master’s degree in Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs and Sarah with bachelor’s degrees in digital advertising and interactive digital studies.
On May 15, the pair will celebrate their academic achievements together at the 7 p.m. ceremony in the McLeod Center. Kerrie will walk first, giving Sarah the chance to watch her mother cross the stage before Sarah later turns her own tassel alongside her peers.
The timing also places their shared milestone within a larger one for the university: UNI’s 150th anniversary.
For the newly minted graduates, the most meaningful part of college life is not the cap and gown photo.
It is everything that came before it.
“The coolest part about this experience isn’t the fact that we’re graduating at the same time,” Sarah said. “It’s that my mom made the choice to go back, put in the work, and we get to experience the hardships together.”
What could simply have been a shared family milestone for the pair became a season of mutual respect, candid commiseration, practical support and a deeper understanding of one another. Sarah, who has balanced multiple jobs while finishing school, said her mother has been a built-in editor, reviewer and an invaluable sounding board.
If Sarah had a paper or a presentation, Kerrie was there to look it over. For Kerrie, in turn, Sarah became her go-to source for technology help and advice.
“It’s a little bit of give and take,” Kerrie said. “It’s neat that we can collaborate collectively on problem-solving things.”
For the past two years, that exchange of strength gave their relationship a different dimension. Sarah said watching her mother return to school years after pausing a master’s program in English when she was pregnant with Sarah’s younger sister gave her a deeper respect for her mother’s determination to keep growing.
“I have a newfound respect for my mom,”she said, adding that “any opportunity is an opportunity to grow, to learn and to stay connected to the learning aspect of life.”
The admiration is mutual.
“I am impressed because she is a workaholic,”Kerrie said. “I did not work when I was an undergrad. That was my job. And the fact that she’s held down multiple jobs and has gone to school full time is crazy to me.”
How Kerrie Took on Graduate School as a Mom of Three
Kerrie is a longtime admirer of dystopian and futuristic literature, including Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.” For her, the novel remains relevant decades after its 1950s publication for its themes of censorship and the shrinking of ideas into quick, digestible fragments.
In a world shaped by TikTok and social media, she said, the book’s warnings about reducing literature and thoughts to “blurbs and blips” feel especially current.
In her 14 years at Union Community School District, Kerrie has guided her students to look for depth and substance in their learning.
She has taught AP literature, composition I and II, sophomore English, and argument and debate. She started the school’s Academic Decathlon program in 2015 and continues to coach students as they prepare for competition.
Under her leadership, the Academic Decathlon team has been the state small school champion for five consecutive years and earned fourth place nationally last year.
As one of her mother’s former students, Sarah said she saw that sense of community firsthand: “Her class is her community, and her room is their safe space.”
For Kerrie, her teaching career did not come without foreshadowing.
As a child, she was always “playing school,” making her younger siblings do worksheets and coloring pages. Later, literature became a turning point. She said the contrast between an uninspiring grade-school experience and the guidance of an exceptional high school teacher helped shape her decision to become an English teacher.
She credited Joe Albrecht, a teacher at Waterloo East High School, with helping put her on that path.
There is one memory in particular she still carries with her.
Kerrie still remembers Albrecht’s literature class fondly, especially his heavily annotated copy of Joseph Conrad’s novel “Heart of Darkness,” which she described as “a mess” of notated margins. She was not particularly fond of the book itself, but a remark Albrecht wrote beside one of Kerrie’s observations on her final essay stayed with her.
“I never noticed that before. Can I use that as an example?” Albrecht wrote.
For Kerrie, “It was the highest praise I could have ever received.”
“I feel like that was the moment where I was like, okay, maybe I can do this,” she said.
Now, after years of teaching English and raising three daughters, Kerrie is preparing for her next chapter in higher education with an advanced degree that she said could open new professional opportunities.
As she considered her own professional growth, she initially thought advising was her calling. Her graduate coursework later broadened her interest to include student conduct, dean of students work and other forms of student support.
Kerrie said her first course in the program, taught by Dr. Heather Schroeder, helped confirm that she was in the right place. Schroeder, Kerrie said, was also the professor who “put the bug in my ear” about the new direction.
How Sarah Grew
Sarah has built a full campus and professional life of her own. During her time at UNI, she worked as the social media and marketing coordinator for the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum in Waterloo. Recently, she wrapped up four years as the sports information director for the UNI wrestling team.
As she looks ahead, Sarah is approaching what comes next with openness, crediting her faith with helping carry her forward.
“Wherever the wind takes me,” she said. “I’m super versatile and I love to work hard.”
Still, for all the work, logistics and questions about the future, what stands out most about the college experience for both women is the closeness it created between them.
“There’s a deeper understanding of each other’s trials,” Sarah said. “Going to college is never going to be easy, whether you’re a master’s student or an undergrad student. Everyone has their obstacles.”
That shared experience has given the two more than a graduation date. It has given them a new way to understand each other.
When people learn that the two are graduating at the same time, Kerrie said they often recognize how rare the moment is. But for Kerrie and Sarah, the timing has become something more meaningful: a chance to celebrate years of work, sacrifice and support together.
“A lot of students don’t get to say they went through college alongside the person who loves them most,” Sarah said.
Sarah said she is proud of her mother for “reaching her dreams and never settling for the bare minimum.”
Kerrie, in turn, praised Sarah’s optimism.
“You’re a ray of sunshine,” Kerrie said. “I wish I had your positivity.”