A mother-daughter duo and one of the nation's top ROTC cadets will be among those walking across the stage for the University of Dayton's first "full" spring commencement ceremonies in three years.

For Laura and Mercedes Franklin, graduation day will be the ultimate unplanned Mother's Day celebration. Heading into this academic year, daughter Mercedes wasn't planning on attending the ceremony and mom Laura still had more than two semesters left. Mercedes went to Laura for her thoughts.

"I was like, 'How could you not walk?!?,'" Laura told her daughter. "Mercedes said, 'If you walk with me, I would totally do it.' So I decided to up my game to take a heavy semester last semester and this semester, and we will be walking together.

"It is an excellent Mother's Day gift to graduate together."

Laura, an employee at UD’s Institute for Pastoral Initiatives, will be graduating with majors in criminal justice studies and sociology and a minor in psychology to go along with an associate's degree and another bachelor's degree she earned previously. Mercedes will earn her bachelor's in fine arts. 

Having each other's support and encouragement definitely helped get them to graduation day, they said. 

"The friendly competition and not wanting to see each other graduate alone definitely pushed us," Mercedes said. "But I think having each other to lean on when life got hard plus the pride of accomplishing a goal despite our adversity has gotten us to this point more than just our competitiveness. I’m really proud of us for getting to this point. Being able to do it side-by-side has been the ultimate cherry on top of a long journey for us."

UD ROTC Cadet Battalion Commander Rachel VerDow will be graduating with her degree in international studies ranked 20th nationally among 5,700 ROTC cadets being commissioned this spring. The ranking is based on overall academic GPA, military science GPA and leadership evaluations, according to the U.S. Army Cadet Command.

"It's very rewarding to hear that number, but I also know this program has completely prepared me to reach that," she said. "Because of how competitive we are and how we all strive to get better, I think being in that environment has set me up for that. I can't say it's all me, but the people around me."

VerDow will give her first salute to and receive her first salute from her grandfather, a Vietnam War veteran, during her commissioning ceremony in a tradition dating before the Revolutionary War.

Overall, UD expects to confer approximately 2,100 degrees in the ceremony this spring, including 1,552 undergraduate degrees, just fewer last year's mark of 1,582. For the academic year, which also includes August and December graduations, UD will confer 3,081 degrees, also a little less than last year's mark of 3,125.

The ceremony for undergraduate students will be at 9:45 a.m. Sunday, May 8. The University will award an honorary doctorate of science at the ceremony to Lori Beer, a 1989 University of Dayton computer science graduate who now is the global chief information officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Read more here. Information about graduation ceremonies for undergraduate and graduate students can be found here.

The University's spring 2022 commencement ceremony for the School of Law will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 7. The ceremony for doctoral and graduate students will follow at 12:45 p.m. 

The baccalaureate Mass will be held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7.

All graduation ceremonies and the baccalaureate Mass will be in University of Dayton Arena and will be streamed live; links are embedded above. Tickets are not required and there are no seating limits. There are no COVID-19 restrictions, but that is subject to change based on the state of the pandemic on campus and in the Dayton community. 

The 2020 spring commencement ceremony was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The University will hold a celebration for 2020 graduates at noon Saturday, May 14, at the Marycrest Amphitheater located at the east end of the central mall opposite Kennedy Union.

"The University is committed to celebrating these 2020 undergraduates who were unable to have a typical graduation ceremony due to COVID. We would like to give them an experience to commemorate their accomplishments in a public way with their friends, family, and faculty and staff," said Paul Benson, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs. "Students will be in their caps and gowns; have their names read as they walk up to shake hands with President Spina, myself and their dean; receive their diploma cover; and have their photo taken."

Information about the celebration for the class of 2020 can be found here.

Last year, the University held six in-person ceremonies at UD Arena aligned with safety guidelines to allow students and their invited guests to celebrate academic achievements in the Flyer spirit and tradition.

For more information and interviews, please contact Shawn Robinson, associate director of news and communications, at srobinson1@udayton.edu.