Copperas Cove mom earns degree 32 years later, graduates with three of her children

COPPERAS COVE, Texas (KWTX) - A Central Texas mom who started college more than thirty years ago, but didn’t finish, is finally graduating Friday, and when she crosses the stage, she’ll do it alongside three of her children also graduating from the same college.

Michelle Dery, 50, of Copperas Cove, says she never planned to graduate with three of her kids when she started Central Texas College in Killeen. In fact, they all enrolled at different times.

Michelle will graduate Friday alongside her 28-year-old daughter, Jessica Dery; her 27-year-old son, Victor Dery; and her 23-year-old son, Joshua Dery.

“Last semester, we were all talking about how many classes we had left to go,” Michelle told KWTX. “Jessica asked me, ‘how many more classes do you have?’ and we went to look and we were like, ‘oh my gosh, we’re all going to end together.’”

It’s been a long road for the married mother of five whose husband and father to the kids is a disabled veteran.

Michelle started college just after her 1992 graduation from Lampasas High School, but her husband traveled a lot for work and life got busy when she became a mom.

“I started in 1992, did a semester and then did another semester around 2001, but I have been busy raising a family and just never got the chance to finish,” Michelle said.

About a year-and-a-half ago, while in elementary school, Michelle’s youngest child, Madisyn, asked why she never graduated.

“I only went back to school because my little one, Madisyn, asked, ‘did you ever finish?’ and I said, ‘no,’ and she said, ‘don’t you always say finish what you started?’”

Michelle enrolled in Central Texas College. Victor had started classes there in 2017. Joshua and Jessica began in 2021.

When Victor found out his mother was on track to graduate before him, he got more serious about school.

“Victor was like, ‘you’re not graduating before me,’ so he stepped it up,” Michelle recalled with laughter.

Michelle had one class with Jessica and an English class with Joshua. She and Victor never sat in the classroom together but had the same online class.

“With Jessica and Joshua, I tried to ignore them and sit on the other side of the room, but they’d always be like, ‘that’s my mom!’”

Michelle said she and her kids never studied together because their methods were as different as their generations.

“They used laptops, but I’m a different generation with paper and notes,” Michelle said. “Here they are clicking on their laptops and I’m like, ‘I can’t do that.’”

Michelle, Victor and Joshua will graduate with an Associate of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Jessica will earn an Associates of Applied Science in Nursing.

“I’m really proud to be able to sit across the stage at the same time with them,” Michelle said. “I am proud to see them do it, and I feel like, ‘oh I get to be with my kids.’ It’s like a journey that’s completed.”

The family’s college graduation will be Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Cadence Bank Center in Belton.

Michelle also has another daughter, Miceala, who will be graduating Copperas Cove High School later this month.

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