HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — This fall, three generations of the same family will make Northern Kentucky University (NKU) their home. 

Serena Owen attended NKU in the early 1990s, when received an associate's degree in business and a master’s in education. She said she plans to head back to get her full business degree and run her nonprofit organization, Community Heroes. 

"I'm hoping to expand that so that we can accommodate and support our community more and empower people," Owen said. 

But she’s not alone this time. Owen's mother and longtime legal secretary, Renee Wilson, is now pursuing higher education for a law degree while Owen's daughter, Destiny Owen, plans to attend this fall. 

"I think it's pretty cool that I have the additional support," Destiny said. 

Wilson is a Donovan Scholar, a program that allows Kentucky residents 65 and older to pursue credit-bearing coursework at NKU for free. She said the degrees are just another way to continue giving back.

"We will be there and continue to wrap our arms around the community … and let them know that they do have a support system within this family," Wilson said. 

Serena said her accomplishments wouldn't be possible without her grandmother and the work of previous generations. 

"[The] spirit of love and of giving back has poured into my mother, Renee Baker Wilson, and now into me," she said. 

NKU has brought much joy to Serena's family, she said, as it's where she met her husband and got married. Now, both her children and her mother will become alumni. 

“This is just awesome," she said. "[NKU is] empowering people in ways that they can't imagine, and it's just such a blessing.”

Serena will graduate in 2026 before Wilson and Destiny graduate in 2028.