Illinois Dad Surprises His Family with a Bachelor's Degree

An Illinois dad surprises his family with a bachelor's degree. As an additional surprise, the father and daughter duo graduated from the same university. That is not all because they graduated at the same time.

The Illinois dad, Mike Loven, took Finance and Economics from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. He started studying there while her daughter, Taleigh Loven, enrolled in the same university to study Psychology.

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Illinois dad surprises his family

The Illinois dad's surprise, his diploma, was revealed to his family during the night of his daughter's graduation party.

Last October, Taleigh graduated and was only expecting congratulatory messages from her family when she walked downstairs after the graduation ceremony. However, she was surprised to see his dad.

The daughter of the Illinois dad burst into tears after seeing her dad wearing the same cap, and purple stole that she was wearing.

Taleigh's first thought was that she was very proud of her dad. However, she had to ask her dad, "I was like, wait did you really go to college?"

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Illinois dad goes to college

In an interview with CNN, the Illinois dad shared that there was no specific reason behind his decision to go to college. He said, I really can't explain the reasoning behind the decision other than that on June 6, 2016, I woke up with a premonition from God that I was going back to school."

Everything worked out for the Illinois dad. However, it was not all smooth-sailing. According to Loven, the most difficult days were during midterms and finals. That is especially because other family members were also studying during that time and were also asking for help from him.

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Keeping the school a secret

Although the father and daughter duo went to the same university, the Illinois dad goes to college online while her daughter was spending time at her dorm. The daughter had no idea that she and her dad was attending the same school.

Before the Illinois dad surprises his family, he had to keep the school a secret to his family. He said, "There was no malicious or real reason for hiding it from the family -- I just thought the surprise would be so fun."

Loven's family had no idea that he was attending classes. He has been on his laptop most of the time. That is why it was not that obvious.

The father and daughter duo's plans

After the Illinois dad surprises his family, the next question is what their next plan would be.

Since the father and daughter duo graduated at the same time, they are now asked what their plans would be.

For the dad, he's done and has no plans to pursue further studies. However, for Taleigh, she is already on her way to a master's in psychology, which makes her dad very proud of her.