Talk about mother and daughter bonding! Meet the 16-year-old Emma Earhart, who is already a junior college graduate at the University of North Texas.
The talented young lady got her associate’s degree one year earlier and is a couple of months away from getting her bachelor’s. It’s clear that Emma is a straight-A student who excels in just about every class she takes.
“We always joke around that house that if Emma tells you something outrageous, do not disagree with her,” Emma’s mom Kathy said to CBS News. “She would just always remember these random things. She loves the ‘Guinness Book of World Records,’ science, her favorite move is ‘Planet Earth.'”
Ambitious is definitely one of the words that best describe Emma.
“I always say that Emma’s on autopilot and I don’t want to jinx her because she’s got focus, she’s got drive, ambition,” dad Joe Earhart told WFAA.
She majoring in biology, but she isn’t doing it alone.
She’s known one of her classmates all her life: her best friend who also happens to be her mother Kathy.
Kathy always wanted to be a doctor when she was little, but it seemed like it was never supposed to happen. Kathy became a stay-at-home mom raising Emma and her two siblings, but when Emma started college at only 14 years old, mom became inspired and hungry for knowledge.
“I always wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. I just thought the time had passed that I didn’t get to do that,” Kathy told.
“And I was like, ‘OK, I’m doing this,'” she said. “If I set my mind to it, I will do it.”
Mom decided to pursue her own bachelor’s degree, and the goal is for both of them to get doctorate degrees.
The fact that they can do it together definitely creates a bond, and according to them, it’s even fun and challenging to study along with family.
“It’s a lot of fun. We’re competitive in a fun way. So you know, it’s ‘who did better on this, who did better on that.’ So we challenge each other,” mom told.
“It’s just created a bond that’s going to last a lifetime,” Emma then added.
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The young woman started college at a young age and essentially skipped the entirety of high school.
“After 8th grade, I went to high school for three days,” Emma told. “I decided this isn’t for me.”
Mom then tried to figure out if it was, in fact, possible to send someone to college straight out of middle school, and it turned out that is was absolutely possible. She took the Texas Success Initiative test, which is a good indication of whether or not someone can handle the academic level of college. Mom wasn’t really surprised to hear that Emma absolutely excelled in the test.
Inspired by her own daughter, the 37-year-old mom decided to enroll in college with her.
“I had taken dual credit [courses] 20 years ago when I was in high school,” Kathy told. “I thought my ship had sailed on that. I was a stay-at-home mom full time.” But when her daughter started college, she said to herself, “‘OK, if she can do this, I can do this.'”
Initially, Kathy actually just took a couple of classes that were separate, so she didn’t spend any time with her daughter in school. However, that all changed the following semester when Emma was able to convince her to take classes together.
“She was resistant at first, then once we did it she was like, ‘OK, I really like this,'” Kathy said. “And this semester, I actually signed up for classes first and picked them all and then Emma chose the same as me.”
As of right now, mom and daughter are spending all of their classes together – and the course package is quite heavy, yet varied. The mom and daughter duo are following physics, psychology, sociology of health and wellness and organic chemistry together, among others.
After their time in school, both of them are looking to pursue a career in the medical industry. Emma wants to become a surgeon, and Kathy hopes to follow in her footsteps and go to medical school as well.
“I would like to be a dermatologist. I’m currently an esthetician, so I do skincare … but I’m also open-minded that I could change my mind in medical school.”
You’d think that having your own mother around at school would be annoying, but the duo doesn’t seem to mind at all.
Or at least, not very much.
“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Emma, I just need a break,'” mom Kathy told with a laugh.
“I always saw my mom be really good friends with her mom, my grandma,” Emma said. “And we always had a good relationship, but this experience has made it so strong and she’s my best friend while also being my mother. It’s crazy.”
What an absolutely inspiring family!
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By Jonathan Maes
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Jonathan Maes is a contributing writer at Shareably. He is based out of Belgium and can be reached at [emailprotected].
