Mother, daughters conquer college together

For some students, seeing their mother walking across their college campus would come as a shock. But for the King family, that is simply an average school day. From stopping to give each other a hug during a fire drill to saying a quick hello and goodbye while hurrying between classes, Damiana King and her two daughters, Danara and Darah, show their support for one another as they continue through their college careers.

“I’m 25 now, and I think it’s awesome that she comes to school with me,” said Danara King. “We’re a really close, touchy family, I would say, so it’s just nice to see your mom at school and give her a hug.”

Damiana attends Western Washington University with two of her three daughters, Danara and Darah. The three women transferred from Skagit Valley College, which they all attended together as well. Danara and Darah are pursuing degrees in sociology and communications, respectively, and Damiana has created her own course of study through Fairhaven’s upside-down degree program with an emphasis in education and cultural social studies.

“I was a stay-at-home mom for about 20 years, and then I decided because I didn’t have anything other than a high school education that in order to get a better paying job I needed to get some college credits,” Damiana said.

In addition to being a stay-at-home mother, Damiana previously ran a preschool from her home for many years; it was there she developed a passion for early childhood education. Currently, she works as an instructional aid at Mount Vernon School District.

“We’ve just always been about school, without even knowing, subconsciously always thinking about school,” Darah said. “My mom has always pushed us to go to school, so she was finally like ‘Okay, well, I should push myself.’”

"My mom has always pushed us to go to school, so she was finally like 'OK, well, I should push myself.'"

Danara will be the first of the three to graduate from Western on Dec. 12, when she will graduate with honors with a degree in sociology and a minor in psychology. Her next step is to apply for graduate school and pursue a doctorate in sociology, Danara said.

Darah would like to pursue a career in university administration after she graduates, but her alternative plan is to open a cultural center preschool with her mother.

“I would like to support people transitioning from community college up to Western or Fairhaven, preferably to Fairhaven,” Damiana said of her plans for the future. “Kind of like a bridge connecting the two, because it was a difficult trip for somebody that wasn’t a college student prior. So I would like to see if I can make the trip easier for some people.”

Navigating the multiple forms and stacks of paperwork that accompany college admission and registration can be a daunting task to undertake and can often seem overwhelming to new students. As she guided her daughters – and later herself – through the process, Damiana became quite familiar with the task.

“I went through a program that was transitioning people from one life to another and I did that program and it was wonderful. It introduced me to college, it introduced me to financial aid, it introduced me to a lot of things.” Damiana said.

Financial aid services are an important resource for many college students, especially families all attending school, but it can be difficult in the beginning to learn how to apply for aid.

"It's just nice to see your mom at school and give her a hug."

“We had to learn how to apply for financial aid, we didn’t know how initially. It was very confusing,” Damiana said. “Now, we all apply for financial aid pretty much on our own, but initially that was difficult.”

During their college careers, both Damiana and Danara have applied for and won multiple scholarships and awards, and they hope that Darah will do the same, Damiana said.

While attending Skagit Valley College, Damiana received the Woman of Promise award, and Danara has been on the Presidential Honor Roll at Western for five quarters in a row due to her excellent academics.

Even faced with a commute from her home in Stanwood to Bellingham, which can take over an hour, each way, Damiana has remained enthusiastic. The environment and the friendly atmosphere have made the 400-miles-a-week commute worth it, she said.

Damiana and her daughters have pursued their education goals with a fervor and passion, supporting each other through their college careers from helping to plan classes, studying together to stopping to hug each other when they pass on campus.

“We’re all really busy. School follows you home, it’s never over. It’s not like you go to work and then you’re done when you get home,” Danara said. “It’s like constant stress, I would say, it’s always there, even if you’re not doing homework you’re thinking about homework, homework you should be doing.”

"We’re all on the same page here, we’re all doing homework and we’re fine with it."

With schedules packed full of assignments and exams finding a quiet place to study in a house full of people can be a challenge in itself for students. For the King family, studying and assignments become a family activity that all members can empathize with.

“What was nice, is at my mom’s house, once she became a student too, it was great because I do my homework at home all the time and so when we’re both doing it it’s like a quite, nice place to do your homework instead of family members running around talking loud with T.V. on,” Danara said. “It’s like we’re all on the same page here, we’re all doing homework and we’re fine with it. We’re each sitting in the same room but no one’s talking. We’re all busy.”

When talking about their days or their schoolwork, Damiana and her daughters feel that their shared experiences have helped them to better understand each other.  Attending the same university has allowed the King family to remain close and support each other in times of need.

During her first week at Western, Darah King was involved in a car accident and was able to call her mother because she knew that she was at Western, Darah said. Damiana and Danara were able to get to Darah in less than five minutes because of how close they were.

"We’re striving to better ourselves in the ways that we can for ourselves and for our future."

The determination that Darah and Danara show in pursuit of their educational goals is mirrored by their mother’s determination in pushing for their – and her own – success at Western. They all encourage the others to do well.

“[Going to college together] feels wonderful because I took it on like a personal job, that I wanted my daughters to have a better future than the one I started with,” Damiana said. “So from the time they were young I wanted them to say ‘you know I’m gonna try that, I’m gonna do the best I can.’ And I’m really proud of them because now all three of them are college students, as well as myself. So I think the fact that we’re striving to better ourselves in the ways that we can for ourselves and for our future makes me really proud.”