Mother, son graduate within days of each other: 'It's never too late'

Mother, son getting degrees from USF

FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer reports.

TAMPA - It's an extra-special Mother's Day weekend for a mom who walked across the USF commencement stage on Thursday while earning her master's degree and will also soon watch her son receive his undergraduate degree.

The backstory:

Tammy Moscato received her Master's of Education degree while her family, including her son, Bennett, watched from the crowd.

"I think it's fair to say I'm proud of myself. This was a long, hard journey," Tammy said.

Depending on how you look at it, Tammy's journey either began two years ago, when she went back to school, or in 2002, when she was pregnant with Bennett and missed her own college graduation.

What they're saying:

"I just felt like it's never too late to continue to better yourself. I'm a lifelong learner, and if not now, when?" she said.

This weekend, Tammy will be in the crowd as Bennett receives a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree.

She said she's cherished the time they've spent together, often studying at home.

"We would post up on opposite ends of the couch, you know, really go back and forth, help each other cite things, search for scholarly articles, that kind of thing," she said. "I think I'm more proud of him. As a mom, that's what you want. You want your children to be happy and to thrive and to do well."

What's next:

While her son begins his career following commencement, Tammy plans to stay in her current role. She's currently not planning on going back into the classroom to teach, but wouldn't rule it out, adding, "who knows what the future brings?"

The Source: FOX 13 reporter Aaron Mesmer gathered the information for this story.

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