Like all good mothers, Sara Friesen ’06 would patch up her young son’s scrapes and cuts and care for him when he had a cold. Years later, it was Jared ’06 who was his mother’s inspiration.
Jared and Sara graduated together this spring with master’s degrees in Advanced Practice Nursing. After working as a nurse for nearly 30 years, Sara decided to attend Wichita State to get a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s in the area of psychiatry and mental health.
Jared’s accomplishments as a student and burn-unit nurse are what spurred her on. “Jared was my inspiration for going back to school,” she says. “I just totally feel like this whole experience has been a gift for me.”
While working toward their degrees together, occasionally an instructor would notice that Jared and Sara had the same last name and ask if they were related. “Jared would joke and say, ‘This is my oldest sister,’ and sometimes they would buy it,” Sara reports.
At first, Jared thought going to school with his mom might be weird. But he reports it never was. “It’s definitely a unique experience,” he says.
