DAYTON, Ohio — Mercedes Franklin didn’t plan to walk in the University of Dayton’s upcoming spring graduation. Her mother, Laura, didn’t agree with that decision, so she found a way to convince her daughter to do it.

Walk with her.

Heading into the academic year, Laura still had more than two semesters' worth of credits to complete. But getting her daughter to walk convinced her to “up her game” and finish early.

“I was like, ‘How could you not walk?,’” Laura told her daughter. “Mercedes said, ‘If you walk with me, I would totally do it.’ So I decided to up my game to take a heavy semester last semester and this semester, and we will be walking together.”

On Sunday, the mother-daughter duo will be among a record number of graduates to walk across the stage at University of Dayton Arena. It also happens to be Mother’s Day.

“It is an excellent Mother’s Day gift to graduate together,” Laura said.

Laura, a UD employee, will graduate with majors in criminal justice studies and sociology and a minor in psychology to go along with an associate’s degree and another bachelor’s degree she earned previously. Mercedes studied fine arts.

“The friendly competition and not wanting to see each other graduate alone definitely pushed us,” Mercedes said.

Overall, UD expects to hand out about 2,050 degrees during the Sunday morning ceremony, including an expected record of 1,655 undergraduate degrees. The previous mark of 1,582 happened last year. 

For the academic year, which also includes August and December graduations, UD expects to confer 3,037 undergraduate degrees, eclipsing last year’s mark of 3,004. The school will have the final numbers by late June.

One student graduating Sunday is Rachel VerDow, a cadet battalion commander in UD's Army ROTC. She’ll graduate with a degree in international studies. 

VerDow ranks 20th nationally among 5,700 ROTC cadets being commissioned this spring. The ranking is based on overall academic grade-point average, military science GPA and leadership evaluations, according to the U.S. Army Cadet Command. Overall, the University of Dayton Army ROTC cadet class is the top-rated in Ohio.

“It’s very rewarding to hear that number, but I also know this program has completely prepared me to reach that,” said VerDow, who will give her first salute to and receive her first salute from her grandfather, a Vietnam War veteran, during her commissioning ceremony.

“Because of how competitive we are and how we all strive to get better, I think being in that environment has set me up for that,” she added. “I can’t say it’s all me, but the people around me.”

The ceremony for undergraduate students starts at 9:45 a.m. Sunday. 

The events will include the awarding of an honorary doctorate of science to Lori Beer, the global chief information officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Beer earned a computer science degree from UD in 1989.

The Franklins and VerDow will be a part of the University of Dayton’s first full spring commencement ceremonies in three years because of COVID-19. As of right now, there are no seating restrictions.

Last year, UD held six in-person ceremonies to align with safety guidelines to allow students and their invited guests to celebrate their academic achievements. But the class of 2020 wasn’t as lucky. The schools canceled the spring commencement that year ceremony because of the pandemic.

To make up for that, UD will hold a celebration for members of that class at noon Saturday, May 14, at the Marycrest Amphitheater at the east end of the central mall opposite Kennedy Union.

The goal is to give the 2020 grads a “typical” UD graduation ceremony, full of the pomp and circumstance a person expects.

They’ll finally have a chance to wear their caps and gowns, have their names read as they walk up to shake hands with UD President Eric Spina, receive their diploma cover and have their photo taken on stage and with friends and family.

“We would like to give them an experience to commemorate their accomplishments in a public way with their friends, family, and faculty and staff,” said Paul Benson, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs.

Commencement ceremonies for University of Dayton graduate students will take place this weekend as well. The ceremony for the UD School of Law is Saturday at 9 a.m. Doctoral and graduate students will graduate at 12:45 p.m.

A baccalaureate Mass will take place Saturday at 4:30 p.m.