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Education is a personal journey. Students enter �����ؿ� in order to further develop their skills to move forward to a four-year institution or to train for a career.

For the Young family of Manvel, it was a journey they decided to take together.

“I am excited because you never think something like this is going to happen,” Veronesia Young said. “It just so happened that they were looking to graduate together and I wanted to hop on with them. This is huge for our family.”

Young joined her children Jacob Anthong-Isreal Young and Aniya Minix as they each graduated during the 2026 Commencement on May 8.

Their moment on the stage came together as their programs happen to be completed in the same semester.

Veronesia first started taking courses at �����ؿ� to enter into the Bachelor’s of Business Administration and Management program. When she enrolled, however, she learned that she was just a few courses from earning an Associate’s Degree, which she decided opted to do.

“The kids were graduating at the same time so I thought I could backtrack to join them,” she said. “I’ve already planned to join the Bachelor’s program once I finish.”

Veronesia plans to use her education to expand her expertise to improve the counseling firm owned by her and her husband.

“In business, it’s not easy and I’m going to use what I learn in this field to build on that,” she said. “We’re big on entrepreneurship. I want them to understand that in life, nothing is given, you have to work hard for it. You have a goal, you set that goal and then go meet that goal.”

Jacob started at the college taking courses on the main campus and the West campus. His journey to the Commencement stage ended with the completion of his Cybersecurity and Engineering program.

“All of my teachers have been great,” he said. “I’m working towards an internship and then try to work the corporate ladder.”

Jacob was inspired to go into Cybersecurity because of his love of video game design.

“I want to get into the gaming field,” he said. “I could consider working with anti-cheats on a variety of gaming platforms.”

Aniya enrolled at �����ؿ� not yet knowing what she wanted to do. She started in the audio/video production program but would eventually enter the Culinary Arts program and now that she’s finished, she wants to join her mom in the Bachelor’s program.

“Culinary became something that I wanted to do because everyone has to eat,” she said. “I enjoy the process and the reaction of cooking for people.”

Veronesia said one of her main objectives in returning to college was to show her students the importance of earning an education and to overcome obstacles through their faith.

“I’m a big advocate for learning,” she said. “When I think I life, it’s not about the degree you have or what you choose to do. As long as they stay on that path, they’ll be fine. That’s my prayer.”

To hear more about the Young family’s journey at �����ؿ�, check out their interview with the �����ؿ� Podcast which is available wherever podcasts are found.