Celebrating the Class of 2026: One Family, Two Graduations, Countless Reasons to Celebrate

This June, Brittany Rosado will walk across the stage to receive her Associate degree in Human Services, while her son celebrates his own graduation from eighth grade, a proud milestone years in the making for both of them. 

As a single mother, Brittany balanced the demands of parenthood, work, and eschool, persevering through challenges with the hope of creating a brighter future for her family and showing her son what determination looks like. 

Read her inspiring letter and see why this graduation is about so much more than a degree for the Rosado family. It’s a celebration of resilience, love, and two amazing futures unfolding together.


"To the faculty and administration,

This moment is more than a graduation for me — it is the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another generation’s story. 

As a single mother, there were seasons in my life when the weight of responsibility felt heavier than my own dreams. There were days filled with uncertainty, sacrifice, exhaustion, and quiet prayers whispered late at night after my son had fallen asleep. Yet through every struggle, I kept going, because I knew I was not only building a future for myself — I was building one for him.

This year, my son and I will both walk across a stage together. He will graduate from the eighth grade, and I will graduate from college. 

Although he is not graduating from Monroe University, this accomplishment belongs to both of us. Every assignment I completed, every sleepless night I endured, every obstacle I overcame was with him watching beside me. I watched him take his very first steps, and now I will watch him walk confidently across a stage of his own. There is no greater feeling as a mother.

Our journey has not been easy. We grew through hardships that many people never see behind closed doors, but those struggles became the very reason I refused to give up. This moment represents resilience, faith, perseverance, and unconditional love. It is proof that even in the midst of adversity, a woman can still rise, nurture her child, pursue her education, and rewrite her family’s story at the same time.

For me, this photo is not simply a picture in caps and gowns. It is a reflection of survival, growth, and generational progress. It is the image of a mother and son who walked through life hand in hand — and made it to this moment together.

They say children watch what we do more than what we say. My greatest accomplishment is knowing that my son witnessed firsthand what determination looks like. And as I celebrate earning my degree, I celebrate the young man he is becoming.

This milestone will forever live in my heart, because years ago I held his tiny hand teaching him how to walk… and now, by the grace of God, we are both walking into our futures together."