Mother, Daughter Share Academic Journey
Posted on June 30, 2025
Tasha Stork and her daughter Kaitlin walked across the Mitchell Center stage in caps and gowns at May Commencement. It went by in a flash, but the moment was symbolic.
Tasha graduated from high school in 1996 with a clear vision of her future: She was going to be a nurse. She started college, but life had other plans 鈥� marriage, motherhood and the demands of full-time office work in Mobile. She pushed her dreams to the back of her mind.
Then she went through a divorce with nothing to fall back on.
At the time, Kaitlin, her younger daughter, was studying health sciences at Coastal Alabama Community College in Bay Minette, Alabama. Kaitlin knew she wanted to work in the medical field, and this gave her time to determine which path she would take.
As she saw Kaitlin moving ahead, Tasha was inspired. She stepped far outside her comfort zone. She started thinking about going back to school.
Then COVID hit.
鈥淭his was a challenging time for everyone,鈥� Tasha said. 鈥淪o I decided to just do it.鈥�
The dream was back on. With encouragement from her girls 鈥� Kaitlin and her older daughter, Haleigh 鈥� Tasha enrolled at Coastal Alabama, starting while Kaitlin was in her third semester.
Independently together
After earning an associate鈥檚 degree in health sciences, Kaitlin transferred to the 秘密研究所 to pursue a bachelor鈥檚 degree in radiologic sciences.
Tasha was right behind her. Nervous about whether she鈥檇 be accepted at South as a nontraditional student, she applied to both the College of Nursing and the Department of Radiologic Sciences in the Pat Capps College of Allied Health Professions 鈥� both highly competitive programs.
Suddenly, she and Kaitlin found themselves on the same campus, studying the same material, headed toward the same degree.
鈥淢y car became our eating-nap place at school during break time, which I never thought I would allow, but how things change,鈥� Tasha said.
There, the two discovered their differences.
鈥淥ne thing we learned about one another is that we have very different methods of studying, which led to us mostly doing independent study sessions, using the car as our place to sit,鈥� Kaitlin said.
鈥淲e would sometimes have the same lunch break and be able to study in her car between classes or just catch a nap,鈥� Kaitlin said. 鈥淚 typically would take a nap, and she would bring something to snack on while going over homework or other assignments. Sometimes, if we had the same class after lunch, we would quiz each other on the information.
鈥淎 couple times we would walk to get Chick-fil-A at the Student Center to be able to get an outdoor walk in and enjoy the weather if it was a nice day.鈥�
And, Kaitlin pointed out, the situation helped them both save on gas.
Strong bonds, bright futures
With their easy banter, matching scrubs and long hair, Tasha and Kaitlin can seem more like sisters than mother and daughter. From the start, Tasha tried to keep the mom-daughter relationship out of the school experience so that it would seem like just another classmate.
鈥淚 wanted to give her space and time and not feel like she had to deal with me, but she never had a problem including me in a lot of things, which made me feel special,鈥� Tasha said.
Kaitlin, who initially worked two jobs while pursuing her degree, said that being a student technologist 鈥� the role she and her mom shared until their final hours as students 鈥� was as stressful as juggling side gigs and classes. But it was worth it. Kaitlin accepted a full-time position as a computed tomography technologist at USA Health University Hospital, where her mother now works as a radiologic technologist.
鈥淏eing able to work in the field that I am studying to go into has helped me a lot with my practical knowledge and allowed me to work with some of the best people I have ever met,鈥� Kaitlin said. 鈥淭he experience I have gained at this facility has helped me grow, as it is the only Level 1 trauma center in the area. ... I 100% recommend this field.鈥�
