MADISON, WI (Spectrum News 1) -- Students at colleges and universities around the state are getting ready to graduate in the coming weeks, but not all of them will do so with a family member by their side.
For the Loeser sisters, eight years of age difference wasn't enough to keep two Madison sisters from receiving their degree together.
At Anne Marie and Mary Loeser will both be walking at graduation together on May 17th at Madison Technical College's ceremony. The two are both graduating with cosmetology degrees.
“I'll have a lot of family and friends there watching and my sister is obviously graduating too,” Anne Marie said.
Walking with her will be her younger sister Mary.
“It's just a really good feeling to have had accomplished something like this together being eight years apart,” Mary said.
For Mary this was her second attempt at getting a degree. Her first try was a few years ago.
“It was just tough to get up, go to school, go to work and do it all over again, I ended up actually dropping out after the fall semester,” Mary said.
It was her sister Anne Marie, who already had a degree, that encouraged her to go back to cosmetology school with her.
“She kind of just pushed me, she was like this is a really good opportunity for both of us,” Mary said.
Now a year later the two are ready to graduate together. Anne Marie driving Mary to school every day, making sure she gets up for class.
“She'll sometimes come into my room and be like you've got to get up it's time for school,” Mary said.
The two learn from each other in the salon.
“She proves to me that she knows more than me in this profession and vice versa,” Anne Marie said.
That teamwork could come in handy some day.
“The goal for a long time with my younger sister and my older sister was to always have a salon together,” Anne Marie said.
While that may be a few years out right now, having this experience together will help.
“I think we definitely want to go into business together, so I'm glad that we're doing it together,” Mary said.