Mom, daughter persevere hardship to graduate college together

May 12 (UPI) -- A 50-year-old mother and her 25-year-old daughter will graduate together on Friday with straight A's from a graduate program at a Texas university -- the fifth time they've completed college programs together.

"She's my best friend," 25-year-old Elizabeth Meyer said. "All our classmates call her 'mom.'"

Elizabeth and her mother, Alissa, put on their cap and gown for the third time Friday after completing a Master of Social Work program at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.

The duo has earned a total of five degrees together.

They both completed the program with a 4.0 grade point average. They each hold three Associate's degrees -- in general studies, interdisciplinary studies and social science -- from Central Texas College and a Bachelor's degree from Mary Hardin-Baylor, a private Christian university in central Texas.

The Meyer women are planning a bit of a gap year before returning to Our Lady of the Lake for a Ph.D. program. A report from WOAI, the NBC affiliate in San Antonio, says they're rebounding after previously losing their home because of Hurricane Harvey and living out of a hotel for three years.