Hammond mother & daughter to graduate

They started attending together in 1999, and the Hammond mother and daughter look forward to graduating together from Purdue University Calumet Sunday (5/18).

Linda Cummings (left) and Trista Cummings

Trista Cummings, 27, is to receive a Bachelor of Science in Nursing; her mother, Linda Cummings, 47, a baccalaureate degree with a double major in organizational leadership and human resources & personnel.

By their own admission, the academic highway on which they have journeyed has had an occasional pothole, but through determination, effort and encouragement, they have persevered.

Linda had hoped to attend college soon after graduating from Hammond High in the late 1970s, but those plans were interrupted, she said, by family responsibilities. Then, in 1987, “I tried to enroll,” she said, “but the process was too overwhelmingly for me; there was so much paper to fill out, so I went home.”

Fast forward to 1999.

Daughter Trista had just graduated from Hammond Morton High School and was planning to attend Purdue Calumet. An orientation program for new students was scheduled on campus.

“I was nervous, so I asked her (Linda) to come with me,” Trista said.

Unbeknown to either of them, the program turned out to be an orientation for Linda, as well.

“While I was there, I got excited,” the elder Cummings said, “so I enrolled for classes that very day.”

For nine years, mother and daughter took classes.

“The last year and half were really rough, academically and financially,” Linda said, “but I knew I couldn’t give up, I couldn’t fail. I felt I had to be an example for Trista. Plus, a lot of people at Purdue (Calumet) helped and encouraged me. Even the Chancellor (Howard Cohen) had encouraging words for me.”

Self-employed as a hair stylist/braider before coming to Purdue Calumet, she said she put her business on hold to pursue her education. She took advantage of Pell Grants and other financial aid opportunities. She also volunteered her help behind the scenes with the university’s “Building Community Through the Arts” program.

“I met so many wonderful people doing that,” she said. “That’s when I decided on my majors. With my degree, I want to work with people. I feel like there are so many opportunities open to me.”

Trista credits her mother for steering her toward nursing.

“But I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” the registered nurse at St. Francis Hospital and Health Center in Blue Island, Ill., said. “I was trying to balance my home life and take care of my daughter (Meochia, now 7) with how much I had to study. It was rough, but to be a good nurse, you’re going to go through some rough times.”

Trista, who also earned a nursing associate degree in 2004, credits her classmates and the Purdue Calumet nursing faculty for encouraging her and “being understanding. There was always someone there to help you,” she said. “She also credits her mother for supporting her education—personally and financially.

At times, they studied together and always supported each other. They even took a class together: The African-American Experience.

“It was fun, but kind of strange, too,” Trista said. “It’s one thing to say something in front of your peers, but it’s another thing saying something in front of your mama.”

With a sizeable contingent of family members expected to attend their graduation, Linda and Trista couldn’t be happier and more proud of each other.

“She may have been surprised she did it,” Trista said about her mother’s accomplishment, “but I’m not.”

News Release Date: May 14, 2008