Harvard: Generations

At tomorrow's Commencement, one mother-daughter pair will have twice as many reasons to celebrate.

For Willow S. Lawson '97 and her mother Anita Fineday--who will graduate with a masters from the Kennedy School this year--sending out Harvard graduation invitations, ordering Crimson gowns and anticipating the upcoming ceremonies in Tercentary Theater have all become shared experiences.

Although their relatives are reportedly "proud," both mother and daughter speak modestly of their coinciding Harvard graduations.

"I think people think it's kind of funny," laughs Lawson, who will receive her A.B. in archaeology--a branch of anthropology--at tomorrow's ceremonies.

Lawson was studying abroad in South Africa when her mother decided to apply to business school. The senior says she has eagerly supported her mother's decision.

When she found out that her mother was applying to the Kennedy School, Lawson says she was pleased with the possibility of her mother's coming to Cambridge.

"I was very happy. I thought it would have been great," says Lawson. "I like my mom a lot. She's a younger mother, and she likes to do a lot of the same things I do."

Sharing the Harvard Experience

While some students might cringe at the thought of attending college with one of their parents, Lawson says the experience hasn't been all that unsettling. In fact, she says she welcomed the chance to see more of her mother after her year abroad.

"It's been a great way to spend time with my mom," she says.

Fineday echoes her daughter's sentiments.

"It worked out really well because I hadn't seen [Lawson]," Fineday says. "It was really nice after not seeing her for so long to be in the same town."

While Lawson says she enjoys visiting her mother frequently, she was quick to point out that she does not live with her.

Lawson is a Mather House resident; her mother and 15-year-old sister live together in nearby Peabody Terrace.

Although the two buildings are relatively close, Fineday says that she and her older daughter never bump into each other.

"Unless, we make plans to meet for dinner, lunch or something, we have never accidentally run into each other on campus. It's pretty funny," Fineday says, laughing.

Fineday says she believes that overall, she and her daughter have benefited from the unique circumstance of their simultaneous Harvard enrollment.

"It's been a really wonderful experience for both of us," Fineday says.

Because Lawson was born when her mother was completing her undergraduate degree, Lawson says that her mother has been forced to balance career and family all through undergraduate and graduate schools.

But now that she and her younger sister have grown older, Lawson says her mother can focus on the special experience of being a full-time student.

"[Going to the Kennedy School has been] good for her, so she can really enjoy school now," Lawson says.

However, because of her dedication to her daughter, Fineday says she is not planning to attend the entire Kennedy School graduation as it conflicts with Lawson's Mather House ceremonies.

"I've been through this a couple of times, so I figure it's more important to try to go to hers," Fineday says.

At Commencement, Fineday will be awarded her degree in public administration from the Kennedy School's year-long mid-career masters program. Afterwards, she plans to return home to work in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Lawson will spend the summer working for Let's Go in Egypt.

Both Lawson and Fineday are American Indian and originally hail from Walker, Minnesota--a small, rural town four hours North of the state's Twin cities.

Fineday, who already holds a B.A. in English and a law degree, has spent years working for tribes, practicing law and helping American Indian people in Minnesota. She is an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa tribe, and she and her two daughters have lived on a reservation in Minnesota.

The opportunity for Fineday to travel to Cambridge to pursue a masters degree at Harvard came after she was awarded a leadership fellowship from the Bush Foundation.

The foundation seeks to build a base of well-educated people in the Great Lakes area, according to Lawson.

As a part of her fellowship agreement, Fineday will return to work in Minneapolis to work as a litigation director for a small non-profit firm. Fineday will also be working as a tribal judge at an American Indian reservation.

Fineday says before deciding to apply to Harvard, she knew she wanted to do something involving public interest work. But she says she was surprised when the Bush Foundation actually recommended that she come to the Kennedy School at Harvard.

"They fund people every year to come to the K-School. So I applied to the K-School and got in. It wasn't anything that I planned," Fineday says.

"It was really ironic that this was the school that they suggested I come to. [The Bush Foundation officials] didn't know that I had a daughter here," she adds.

According to both Lawson and Fineday, the mid-career program at the K-School is small and fairly tight-knit--two circumstances which Fineday said have contributed greatly to her stay in Cambridge.

"The K-School is the most wonderful place," Fineday says. "I have truly loved the year I've spent here. I wish I could spend another year here."

"We've made lots of really good friends at the K-School, so it's been great," Fineday says.

In fact, Fineday says that her younger daughter, who has attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School for the past year, has enjoyed their hiatus in Cambridge so much that she doesn't want to leave.

"She loves her high school and doesn't want to go back to Minnesota. She thinks that Minnesota is very boring compared to Cambridge," Fineday says.