For Some in Regalia, This Isn’t Just Another Commencement

OXFORD, Miss. – They’ll put on their regalia and head out like they do each Commencement, but for several University of Mississippi deans and faculty members, it won’t be just another graduation ceremony.

Their children will be among those 5,500 prospective graduates at the university’s 166th Commencement. Later in the day, some will actually read their child’s name over the public address system, or hand them their diploma. 

The Rocks 

David Rock, dean of the School of Education, will hand his daughter, Carly Rock, a bachelor’s degree in secondary chemistry education at graduation, and she’ll get another one in chemistry. A few days ahead of the event, he hadn’t yet come to terms with the idea. 

“I’ll shake 500 hands when 500 people come across that stage, and I’ll take 500 pictures, but this is way different,” Rock said. “It’ll be a tough day, but an amazing day for my wife, Michelle, and I.”

He knew from a young age that his daughter had what it takes to be a teacher, even if that wasn’t in her original plan.

“When she was in middle school, her mother and I saw that she had everything to become a teacher,” Rock said. “She is caring. She is nurturing. She goes above and beyond. She cares about kids. She has always wanted to watch children, and play with children and be a nanny.”

Though she is earning her bachelor’s degree, Carly Rock will enter a chemistry doctoral program, and also work on a master’s degree in science education. She is an aspiring chemistry teacher, which leaves her father astounded.

“For my daughter to be a future chemistry teacher, I can’t even imagine,” he said with a grin. “I have no idea what she is talking about half of the time anyway. She laughs at me as a math person. I am just absolutely in awe.”

Carly Rock said her mom and dad have always been supportive, but she has always been motivated. She didn’t plan to follow her parents’ footsteps into teaching.

“I didn’t want to be a teacher when I was growing up,” Carly Rock said. “All through high school, I was convinced I was going to be a doctor, and everybody always told me I was going to follow in my dad’s footsteps and my mom’s footsteps, but swore it was not going to happen.”

Once she got to college, she decided the classes she needed to be a doctor weren’t her passion. After taking Christmas break to mull it over, she opted to work toward a degree in education, which pleased her dad. 

“He never pushed me to do it, which I appreciated; he let me come to that decision on my own,” Carly Rock said. “He suggested I take a special education class. I fell in love. The very first class I took, there was that atmosphere and a professor who truly wanted you to succeed.

“I realized how much I cared about education in general and how much I wanted to show other students that everybody can reach their highest potential if you have somebody who can help you.”

The Sullivan Gonzálezes

Douglass Sullivan González’s daughter, Renée Sullivan González, will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in physics. The dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and his wife, Maribel Sullivan González, a UM modern languages instructor, took a supportive approach in raising their children.

“We gave Renée lots of latitude to pursue her own interests,” Douglass Sullivan González said. “I always thought she would venture toward English, given her love of writing and reading, but she pursued her love of the big questions in physics. To see her succeed has made us very proud.”

He said his daughter’s success has been rewarding to the family. 

“She joined the world of physics and succeeded,” he said. “She even taught a lab for the Department of Physics, and we beamed with pride, given that great success.”

Renée Sullivan González is working for Hyperion Technologies and living in Tupelo, getting the swing of things as a “real adult.” She’s seen the presence of both her parents on campus as a safety net. She graduated in December and plans to return for Commencement. 

“If I had a problem, I could ask my dad for advice on the best person to talk to or the best process to navigate a situation,” Renée said. “I still had to do all the work myself and come up with a solution and if it didn’t work out, I learned from my own failures.

“My parents were close by if something bad happened, and their offices were often a hideaway and quiet study space.”

It could also be a trap sometimes, she said. 

“The proximity meant that when I messed up, either academically or in my personal life, there was always the chance that my parents would find out from a third party or that my actions would reflect poorly on them,” she said. “I guess in a way that did help me as well. It made me be more responsible and it was rather good motivation to study.”

Douglass Sullivan González said he’s learned lessons in the classroom and in parenthood that work in both arenas. 

“I have learned to trust our students’ decisions and not ‘second guess’ the risks they take,” he said. “To step back and not ‘micromanage’ your daughter’s career takes courage and will power, but it is essential.

“We parents should learn to live out of grace, given our own missteps as young adults.”

The Eassons

Greg Easson, associate dean for research and graduate programs for the School of Engineering and director of the Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute, was initially worried his son, Lee Easson, wouldn’t get the full experience of going off to college when he enrolled at Ole Miss.

“One of the things I always worried about is going off to college and experiencing college,” Greg Easson said. “He did that. I don’t see him. I’ll ask him, ‘Can you come home for your mother’s birthday?’ He’ll say, ‘I am kind of busy. ‘”

Greg Easson, and wife Darlene, have a daughter, Carina Easson, who is rising junior psychology major at Ole Miss, and a son Cole Easson, who graduated from UM with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a pharmacy Ph.D. 

Come graduation day, Greg Easson will read Lee’s name when he is called to the podium to get his diploma. Greg was usually the back-up voice of graduation for Ryan Upshaw, another member of the engineering administration who will be graduating that day, and can’t read the names. It’s kismet that it worked out that way. 

“It’s kind of cool, actually,” Lee Easson said.

Lee hopes to break into video games after graduating. He believes a career in software developing can get him there.

He took a programming class in fifth grade, which was held on campus, and discovered that he loved programming. He begin to teach himself how to do it and ended up at Ole Miss, where he said he had a good experience and will always cherish memories of the time he spent here. 

“I’ll remember all of the people I have met, and all of the collective experiences I have had with them,” Lee Easson said. “All of that put together in aggregate was the best part of being here – making friends that I know I will still be friends with after graduation.”

The Reids

James Reid, chair of the Department of Mathematics, is looking forward to the graduation of his eldest child, Dottie Reid, who is earning a math degree and plans to become a teacher. Reid and his wife, Bonnie, adopted Dottie when she was only 11 months old. Time flies, he said. 

“I am very proud,” James Reid said. “It just seems like yesterday we were in church and she was sleeping on my chest during the services. I just can’t believe it. She is my oldest.

“It is special to my wife and I because we haven’t been through this before.”

From an early age, it was apparent that Dottie would make a good teacher, her father said. She has had a strong intellectual curiosity and a natural ability to relate to people since she was young.

She also has grown spiritually at the university, he said. She deeply cares about those around her and tries to help them as much as she can. These are good traits to take the classroom. 

“She has a real desire to serve people and also a real ‘save the world mentality,” James Reid said. 

Dottie Reid, who will become a junior high teacher at North Panola this fall, also has been admitted to the Mississippi Teacher Corps and will work on her master’s degree at the UM School of Education. Math has always been a passion of hers.

“It is interesting having a math professor as a dad growing up,” Dottie Reid said. “I have always liked math, and having parents as educators is a big part of my life. I know that I am incredibly privileged to have these people as parents.”

The Sanefskis

Darren Sanefski, associate professor of multiple platform journalism, said his daughter’s journey has been an interesting one. Amanda Sanefski began as a special education major. She struggled with that decision and when she was a junior, changed her major to communication sciences and disorders.

“At the time, I was not sure if she was making the right decision, but I quickly saw how happy and engaged she was once she began classes in the new major,” Darren Sanefski said. “I’m proud of her for making the change, even though she was unsure at the time, it was the right thing to do.”

He and his wife, Mary Francher Sanefski, have been supportive of their daughter and very involved in her academics, he said. But he also took some lessons he learned as a professor and passed them along to his kids. Their son, William Sanefski, graduated from Ole Miss in 2018 with an engineering degree. 

“Things I told both of my kids while they were in college: go to office hours and ask questions when in doubt, show the professor you are engaged in the material, and read the syllabus – so many of your questions can be answered by just reading carefully,” Sanefski said.

“I tell my students those same things. Plus, when I make ‘Blues Clues’ references, I know that my students will know what I’m referring to.”

Amanda Sanefski said her parents were always a great sounding board but never forced her into specific decisions. 

“I owe him and my mom a lot,” she said. “They helped and listened when things got tough. They didn’t necessarily give me answers but listened and guided.”

She wants to take a year off from school and work, then enter a master’s program in speech pathology. From there, she hopes to work as a speech pathologist for a school district. 

She’s “pumped” about graduating, and also “nervous, excited and happy” about the milestone, she said. 

The O’Havers

John O’Haver, chair and professor of chemical engineering, said his daughter, Maren O’Haver, has always done well in school, so her success at Ole Miss isn’t a surprise. 

“At the beginning of ninth grade, she told me she would be valedictorian. She was,” O’Haver said. “I have never had to push her. As her department chair, it would have been easy to ‘keep up on her’ if I had wanted to, but I knew I didn’t have to. I am very proud of her performance during her time here at Ole Miss.”

He also characterizes his and wife Kevie’s approach as being concerned parents, but not pushy or overbearing. He calls it “staying involved from a distance.”

“I asked her about how things were going, how she felt about certain classes, and we talked about the need for an internship or co-op,” O’Haver said. “But mostly, just made sure that she took care of herself.

“Chemical engineering is a very difficult major. Students pushing to keep a high GPA can work themselves into exhaustion.”

He believes she’s also becoming a quality human being, besides being a scholar. 

“I am proud of all she has done,” John O’Haver said. “She has done exceedingly well in chemical engineering while paying her way on three mission trips, has stayed involved in church, visits her grandmother and great aunt who live in town.

“She has kept perspective and balanced priorities very well.”

Maren O’Haver said she plans to take the summer to travel before her job hunt begins, including going on a mission trip to Honduras in July.

Her dad has been very helpful in discussions about the kind of careers she might be interested in, she said. He knows her well and understands that the type of environment she works in is more important than the job or company.

“This is something he does for all of his students, but I have the privilege of discussing it over a nice home-cooked meal since he’s an excellent chef as well,” Maren O’Haver said. “But the most important thing he’s taught and shown me from the way he lives his own life is to glorify God in everything, no matter where I am or what career I’m pursuing.”

She said her biggest worry entering college as a chemical engineering student with a parent teaching the same major was that fellow students would think it was easy for her because her dad teaches the subject. That wasn’t the case at all.

“He’s always treated me just as he would any other student,” Maren O’Haver said. “I’ve been asked on the flipside, ‘Oh, your father is the department chair. Isn’t it harder for you?’

“But as I’ve seen his love and genuine care for the well-being of all his students in all his interactions, I am so grateful that other students can see that too, and I’m proud to call him my dad.”