By Keyra Mendoza and Nicole Vergara
Everybody dreams about being surrounded by those they care about during their proudest moments.
For the Lawson family, that dream became a surreal reality Saturday when the husband and wife duo—53-year-old Irving and 47-year-old Joycelyn—and their two daughters, Jovi-Anna and Lee-Yahna, were among the more than 15,400 Miami Dade College students who graduated at loanDepot park in Little Havana during three ceremonies.
“The idea that I’m graduating with my two children and my husband is exceptional,” said Joycelyn, who encouraged her daughters to start their collegiate journey as dual-enrollment students at North Campus. “That was something that I’ve always wanted to have in my catalogue of memories.”
Collecting those associate degrees became a family affair, but it was far from linear. During 23 years of marriage, the Lawson’s have moved from Jamaica to the Commonwealth of Dominica, to Barbados and back to Jamaica, before making their way to Miami in 2018.
“We have gone through a lot of things together,” said 18-year-old Lee-Yahna.
Now they can add graduating from college to that list. Irving earned his degree in cybersecurity, Joycelyn and Jovi-Anna studied nursing, and Lee-Yahna, a presidential scholar, opted to get her degree in business administration.
Family Matters: Pictured from left to right are members of the Lawson Family, Joycelyn, Jovi-Anna, Lee-Yahna and Irving, who graduated together at loanDepot park on April 25. . LUCAS DUARTE/THE REPORTER
The atmosphere was raucous at the ceremonies, which started with the North, West and Hialeah campuses graduation, followed by the Wolfson, Homestead and Medical ceremony and culminated with the Kendall and Eduardo J. Padrón celebration.
Graduates pranced on the ground floor inside the ballpark and flailed their arms to the frenetic beats spit out by DJ She-J Hercules of 99 JAMZ, as the speakers boomed with lyrics from songs like Finesse by Bruno Mars, Gyal You a Party Animal by Charly Black, and Después de la Playa by Bad Bunny.
Confetti spiralled into the air and multi-colored lights flickered inside the baseball stadium as graduates turned their tassels.
The party, for many, was the culmination of overcoming hard days. Arnisca Ferguson, a 31-year-old from Medical Campus, was one of those. The single mom of an 11-year-old daughter fought through homelessness to get her degree.
Ferguson, who immigrated from the Bahamas in 2022, earned an associate degree in surgical technology while serving as a student parent ambassador and working as a part-time coordinator/academic adviser at the College.
“I’m proud of myself,” said Ferguson, who is considering pursuing a bachelor’s degree in health science. “I’m still afraid to walk across that stage because I’m my biggest critic, but I’m really excited with this journey.”
But not all of graduation was as joyous. At Medical Campus, President Alwyn Leiba presented a posthumous college certificate in medical assisting to the parents of the late Brittney Estrada. Her dad, Henry Estrada, patted his heart and blew a kiss skyward after receiving the certificate from President Madeline Pumariega.
During the morning graduation, the parents of 21-year-old Bryan Alexander Ramirez, who lost his life in a car accident in June of 2025, received a posthumous bachelor of applied science degree during the North Campus ceremony. Ramirez’s mom, Alicia Del Carmen, clutched her heart and a photo of her son as the crowd greeted them with a standing ovation.
Throughout the ceremonies, graduates were showered with knowledge from a varied group of speakers. FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed graduates from Wolfson, Medical and Homestead, billionaire businessman Orlando Bravo talked to the Kendall and Padrón campus students, and Anastasios Kamoutsas, the Florida commissioner of education, was the guest speaker at the North, Hialeah, and West campuses ceremony.
“The winning World Cup team wins every four years,” Infantino told graduates.“You are winning it today and you can win it every day as of now.”
Wolfson Campus Student Government Association President Sofiya Korol has certainly lived up to that credo. The 20-year-old, who earned an associate in arts degree on a pre-law track and an associate in science in paralegal studies, was born in Russia and came to the United States in 2021.
That persistence paid off. Korol won the $5,000 District Board of Trustees Scholarship and finished her studies with a 4.0 GPA. She plans to transfer to Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
“Most people don’t fail, they disqualify themselves before reaching the start line,” Korol said in her speech to graduates. “I know this because it is my story. During my first days at MDC I was paralyzed with fear. Even so, I pushed myself to join clubs, to show up and take small steps.”
Marco Javier Alonso knows this to be true.
In 1998, the Miami native earned an associate degree in culinary arts from Johnson and Wales University. However, his studies were put on hold in 2006, when his daughter Mia Alonso-Negron was born while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in hospitality restaurant management at Florida International University.
To support his family, he worked several jobs in hospitality, including as a cook and server, in restaurants across Miami. Twenty-eight years later, the single father is crossing the stage with an associate degree in accounting from Padrón Campus.
“It’s a new start on a long journey in life,” the 49-year-old said. “One where I won’t be running around in a restaurant. One where it will be about counting numbers and making a business run from a different perspective.”
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