MIAMI (WSVN) - Six members of the same family were all capped and bundled for their graduation day, as they reached an academic milestone together.
Cameras captured Stephanie Babani, along with her sister, father, uncle and two of her cousins at Miami Regional University’s commencement ceremony, held Sunday at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami.
“We are graduating a family of six members, six members that are getting their MBA degree today,” said Miami Regional University President Ophelia Sanchez as the crowd erupted in cheers.
The turning of the tassels and charting a new path ahead held a special significance for the Babanis, who are now soaring to new heights together.
All of them earned master’s degrees in business administration, an achievement that was particularly special for Stephanie’s father, Henry Babani.
Family members said the 70-year-old beat cancer twice and still managed to earn his degree with Stephanie by his side.
“He pushed forward. For a very long time, he wanted to get his master’s degree, but there’s so many things, obstacles that were thrown at him” said Stephanie.
“It was a challenge for a year and a half, working very hard,” said Henry, “helping them out with finance, getting up every Saturday in the morning for two and a half hours for each class, but it was an amazing journey that I will never forget.”
“And that goes to say, there is no age limit to education,” said Sanchez.
The family is known as the “Babani cohort” at the university. Despite having their own families and their careers, all of them spent the last 16 to 18 months earning their MBA’s online.
“We call ourselves the Babani gang. We like to stick together, get everything done together,” said Joseph Babani. “We’re here celebrating this beautiful day and accomplishment that we were all able to accomplish together.”
Two of the Babanis graduated on the president’s list and three others on the dean’s list, showing there is power in numbers and that the family that studies together stays together.
Throughout their studies, family members said it was Henry who kept motivating them to reach the finish line.
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