Leading by Example: AUM stepmother and daughter prepare to graduate on the same day

Ashley D’Elia’s own educational journey helped her stepdaughter, Kennedy D’Elia, see what was possible for herself. On May 9, the two will walk the commencement stage at Auburn University at Montgomery on the same day, marking a meaningful milestone in their shared journey as students.

Ashley, an assistant clinical professor at AUM, will graduate at 10 a.m. with her Doctor of Nursing Practice from AUM’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Kennedy will follow at 2 p.m., receiving her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in criminal justice from AUM’s College of Sciences.

For the D’Elia family, commencement won’t just mark two degrees. It will celebrate a mother and daughter relationship built on trust, mentorship and the kind of encouragement that can reshape someone’s future.

Kennedy was 14 when Ashley first entered her life. A year later, Ashley married Kennedy’s father, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, and officially became her stepmother.

Kennedy admits she was already “grown up in my own mind” at 15, but Ashley quickly became far more than a new parental figure.

“She’s my mom,” Kennedy said. “She just came into my life later in life a little bit.”

Over time, Ashley became a mentor, confidante and example of what can happen when someone pursues their goals with determination.

“She was the first woman in my life who pursued a doctorate and showed me how it was possible,” Kennedy said as tears welled in her eyes. “She became that educational role model for me and helped me really understand that maybe I did want a college degree.”

Kennedy began her college journey at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Florida, where she earned an associate degree in psychology. But she wanted more opportunities and a stronger academic experience.

She found both at AUM.

Transferring to AUM in fall 2024 on a G.I. Bill scholarship, Kennedy chose psychology as her major and criminal justice as her minor. She said seeing Ashley thrive at AUM while pursuing her doctorate as a recipient of AUM’s Lettie Pate Whitehead Scholarship helped make her decision easier.

“I wanted more learning, more opportunities, and I saw through Ashley what I was able to accomplish here,” Kennedy said.

Ashley’s own AUM story began years earlier as a nursing student. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from AUM before completing a master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. She later returned to AUM to pursue her doctorate and joined the university as faculty in its graduate nursing program in 2024.

In October 2025, she stepped into a new leadership role as track coordinator for AUM’s family nurse practitioner program — all while completing her doctorate, mentoring students and helping raise a busy household of five children.

For the past two years, the mother and daughter duo have shared more than a home. They’ve shared a campus.

That has meant lunch breaks in Ashley’s office, pep talks before exams and emotional support during stressful moments.

“If I’m anxious for a test grade, I’ll go run over to Chick-fil-A and get us some lunch,” Kennedy said. “We’ll have lunch together. We’ll talk about research ideas and different tests that are coming up and different papers that we need to write.”

Their hard work over the past two years will be visible at commencement. Kennedy will wear a stole representing the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, while Ashley will wear stoles representing Sigma Theta Tau, a nursing honor society; Phi Kappa Phi; and Alpha Epsilon Delta, a health preprofessional honor society.

“We love this university. We’ve both been really fortunate to have strong support systems within our own departments and people who have supported us every step of the way,” Ashley said. “We even both had psychology professor Glen Ray as a mentor during our time as students.”

Kennedy added, “I’m definitely a student who wants to visit professors during office hours, and their doors have always been open.”

Their academic interests may be different — nursing and psychology — but both are passionate about improving mental health care and expanding opportunities for their communities.

That passion has brought them both to their full-circle moment at commencement. Their graduation day will be long — their family plans to spend nearly the entire day on campus attending both ceremonies — but neither would want it any other way.

Ashley will watch Kennedy cross the stage just hours after Kennedy watches her graduate first.

“I’m so overwhelmingly proud of all of her accomplishments,” Ashley said. “I am proud of the woman that she is today and the scholar that she’s become.”

For Kennedy, seeing Ashley earn her doctorate will be a reminder of the woman who helped change the trajectory of her life.

“I don’t think that I would have been able to be at this point in my life if it weren’t for her influence,” Kennedy said. “Seeing her walk that stage first is kind of like, ‘OK, she did it. I can do it.'”

And Kennedy is adamant this spring commencement will not be her last walk across a stage.

“I hope to explore work in the field of social work and counseling after I graduate,” Kennedy said. “I also want to continue my education and one day wear the same cap as Ashley when I earn my doctorate.”