UA Commencement will be a Family Affair when Mother and Son Receive Degrees Together

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Moniaree Jones of Pelham believes that learning is something that can be done over a lifetime.

And, this 54-year-old student will prove that point when she receives her master’s degree from The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in UA’s Aug. 9 summer commencement alongside her 21-year-old son, Drew Jones, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in Latin.

“There are a lot of us ‘older students’ going back to school and I believe we find it more meaningful because we have been out in the work world allowing us to combine education with reality,” Jones said.

Before returning to the Capstone to obtain her master’s degree, Jones worked as an instructor of medical law and ethics, anatomy and physiology at Virginia College and taught health occupations education at a high school in Dothan.

Jones’ decision to come back to school seems to have been an easy one. She attended a conference where she learned about the M.S.N. program at the Capstone College of Nursing. “That was all it took to ignite the slow flame burning beneath my heart,” Jones said. “The experience has been wonderful and challenging.”

Jones said that both she and her son are looking forward to graduation. “I think it is wonderful to share this unusual experience with my son,” said Jones. “I never dreamed anything like this would happen 21 years ago when he came into the world.”

Her son Drew also thinks that this experience is a great honor. “The Capstone holds a special place in my heart as well as my mother’s and it is a true honor to be able to walk with someone whom I not only love dearly, but also someone who has
worked so hard to accomplish so much,” he said.

Though Jones will keep her job as a legal nurse consultant at Bradley Arant Rose & White LLC, she doesn’t plan on leaving the Capstone just yet. Jones has been accepted into a doctoral program for the fall semester.

“I believe nursing is an art and a science. You can learn the science but the art comes from within and perhaps through experiences with good nursing mentors. The encouragement of the professors and their personal desire to see you succeed is like no other place,” she says.