Gracella Brown and her daughter, Gracelle Jones, both attended Glendale Community College. "That was a family legacy that we're building," Brown said.
Gracella Brown
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 41-year-old business owner Gracella Brown and her 20-year-old daughter, Gracelle Jones, from Glendale, Arizona. It's been edited for length and clarity. Glendale Community College apologized for disappointment caused by "a technical issue. You can read the college's full statement at the bottom of the essay.Gracella Brown: I attended Glendale Community College for my Associate of Arts, starting in 2016, and I graduated in 2019. They didn't have the ceremony until 2020, and since COVID was going on, they weren't able to do it.It was a really big deal for me, since I was a first-generation college graduate, but I didn't get to walk. I knew what was going on in the country, so it wasn't something I took personally, but it was still a disappointment.They sent me my robe, cap, and stole, and that was it. I put them on, and it felt great to finally accomplish my goals. That was my form of celebration.I was really looking forward to seeing my daughter graduate from the same school that I graduated from, but I ended up missing that as well.Gracelle Jones: For me, it was a difficult decision to attend GCC. I was previously in a different school, and then I fell back and decided I should go a different direction. GCC was more affordable and closer to home. I decided it was a better decision to go from high school to community college. I studied philosophy.I was deciding whether I even wanted to go to graduation. Then I was like, "This is a day of celebration for me." So, I signed up.
