Mother and Daughter Bond at BGSU Firelands

The mother/daughter relationship during high school years is almost always tumultuous and that was certainly the case for Carrie Mullins and her daughter Rebecca Roach.

“I was a raging teenager and at times hard to deal with,” said Roach, who enrolled at Bowling Green State University Firelands College when she graduated from High School in 2009.  Her mother quickly agreed.

But Mullins, a student at BGSU Firelands since 2008, and Roach shared a very different relationship as fellow students in college and they will be walking proudly together at commencement ceremonies in Bowling Green on Saturday, Aug. 4.

“It was a completely different dynamic,” said Mullins of the improved relationship with her daughter. “As college students we grew to depend on each other for support and help.”

The two certainly became closer and both agreed that at times they felt more like friends or college roommates then mother and daughter as each pursued her degree.

“We would stay up late and study together and often quizzed each other before classes in the morning,” said Roach who lived with her mother through college.  They would often meet in the “Pit” area on campus or take a break from classes to go to lunch at one of the nearby restaurants.  

The two even had one class together – anatomy and physiology.  They agreed it was one of the hardest classes they took and neither would admit to having the better grade between the two.   

Mullins, a mother of four, decided to try college when the economy was turning bad and she saw her workmates being laid off.  She felt she might be next and knew she had to do something.

“I was afraid to try college,” said Mullins who will earn her associate degree in radiologic technology.  “I didn’t want to be the proverbial old lady in the classroom.”

Starting two years after her mother, Roach was equally nervous.  “I dreaded college because of some of the stereotypes I had heard,” said Roach who will earn her associate of arts.

Both were pleased to learn that BGSU Firelands was a welcoming, warm and friendly experience.  Both met people like themselves with whom they could relate; but in the end, it was each other that they leaned on most for support.

“We gave each other encouragement,” said Mullins.  “When I had tough days, I knew I could turn to Rebecca for help.”

As commencement approaches, they are again sharing the same feelings, nervousness and excitement. Happily, Saturday’s commencement will not end this mother/daughter duo’s time together in college.  They both intend to return to BGSU Firelands to continue their education.  “We will be walking these halls together again real soon,” said Roach with a wide grin on her face.