Debra McCarthy and her daughter Kelly graduate Molloy University together

A mother-daughter duo from Rockville Centre shared the stage at Molloy University’s spring commencement ceremony last month, each marking academic milestones they achieved with the help of the other.

Debra McCarthy, 56, earned her master's degree in criminal justice, while daughter Kelly McCarthy, 21, earned her bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology.

The younger McCarthy said she would help her mom navigate student technology, while her mother, who works at Molloy, would share her experiences and give advice on general education courses that she took as an undergraduate student at the Rockville Centre university.

The two said they would even attend Zoom class sessions at the same time, often overhearing one another from different rooms at home.

“My daughter is not only my daughter, she’s my friend,” Debra McCarthy said.

From dream to reality

Debra McCarthy has worked at Molloy for nearly nine years. The former NYPD detective is a development associate and the "communiversity" liaison, coordinating events and partnerships with the Rockville Centre Chamber of Commerce.

Long before joining Molloy’s staff, McCarthy said she began working toward her bachelor’s degree but paused her studies to become a flight attendant for Tower Air, a now-defunct charter airline that transported armed forces personnel overseas. She said she worked during several international operations, including Desert Storm and Restore Hope, an attempt to address Somalia's humanitarian crisis in 1992.

After joining Molloy, McCarthy said she resumed her collegiate journey with the encouragement of her colleagues and earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

“I decided it was very important for myself and for my children to finish what I started,” she said.

McCarthy credited Angela Zimmerman, director of development and alumni relations at Molloy, as one of her mentors who motivated her to make her dream a reality.

Zimmerman said she frequently spoke to McCarthy about wanting to complete her degree.

“I kind of challenged her and really said, 'Why not now?' ” Zimmerman said.

She described the university as a special community, having numerous families with multiple generations of Molloy graduates

“We have many proud Molloy families,” said Zimmerman. “We really pride ourselves in that tradition.”

Finding her passion

Kelly McCarthy said she initially began her studies at upstate Siena College as an education major, where she often shadowed speech language pathologists, prompting a newfound passion and her transfer to Molloy.

She recently started working toward her master’s degree at Molloy in the same field. The younger McCarthy said she hopes to continue playing for the rugby team and pursue several externships to decide whether she’d like to work in a clinical, classroom or geriatric setting upon graduating.

She said she found it funny that she graduated with her mother, who completed her bachelor’s degree the summer that her sister, Devin, graduated from the physician assistant program at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

“I’ve joked that she’ll go get her Ph.D. now and graduate with my brother,” Kelly McCarthy said. Her brother, Thomas, attends Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore.

McCarthy said she was ecstatic to learn that her daughter was not only accepted to a master’s program in speech-language pathology, but that she was accepted to Molloy’s program.

She said she hopes their journey inspires other families to share their educational journeys together at Molloy, but also reminds adult learners that it’s never too late to finish their degree.

“Sometimes at my age you feel funny going back to a classroom environment," McCarthy said.

But, she said, "It’s not just about the certificate; it’s about collaborating and learning from others. It keeps you young.”