A degree in determination: Miami mom graduates college alongside her son

For Haivyl Lopez, Mother’s Day this year is more than just a holiday. It’s a full-circle moment.

After more than two decades of perseverance that began with a decision to leave her homeland, Lopez, 48, walked across the stage at Miami Dade College’s graduation ceremony on April 26 to receive her long-awaited bachelor’s degree. What made the moment unforgettable was who walked beside her—her 20-year-old son, Sebastian.

“It was really emotional,” said Lopez, who proudly told the faculty on stage that her son was walking behind her.

Their dual graduation fell into place with the help of Lopez’s longtime college advisor, Jeanette Campos, who has supported her for more than a decade.

During a meeting to talk about Lopez’s final credits, Campos realized Lopez’s son was just one class short of graduating. Campos registered him right there, and he ended up taking five classes that semester so he could walk alongside his mom.

“She’s been in school longer than I’ve been alive,” Sebastian Vera said. “I was just super, super happy for her ... super proud of her.”

It was a milestone more than 20 years in the making.

A journey interrupted

Born and raised in Matanzas, Cuba, Lopez was just three months shy of earning her degree in biology at Instituto Superior Pedagógico Juan Marinello when she and her husband made the difficult decision to flee the country. She was 22.

“With the issues and the Cuban government, if you graduate, you’re pretty much literally handcuffed,” she said. “So we decided to leave.”

From Cuba to Spain and finally to the United States, Lopez landed in Miami in July 2000 with no car, no license and limited English.

She biked to work at a local grocery store in Allapattah, took jobs in bakeries and cosmetic factories and enrolled in English courses at Miami Dade College.

Eventually, she was hired as a bank teller at Colonial Bank, beginning a career that would span more than two decades and multiple bank mergers.

Today, Lopez is a senior vice president and wealth business advisor at Truist Bank, advising high-net-worth business clients across South Florida.

And yet, despite professional success, one goal remained incomplete: her college degree.

‘Made me feel incomplete’

“What kept me motivated was that I had three months left to graduate,” Lopez said. “Not being able to finish made me feel incomplete as a person.”

Her academic path was anything but linear.

She studied while raising children, through a divorce, during her son’s brain surgery at age 14 and after the death of her ex-husband, who was killed while cycling on the Rickenbacker Causeway in 2022.

Still, Lopez pressed on, often taking just one class per semester while working and parenting full time.

“I had to build a life,” she said. “Pay bills. I had kids and I was building a successful career. But I never stopped taking classes.”

Vera said that when he was younger, he couldn’t grasp the gravity of his mother’s situation and only really opened his eyes to it after his father passed.

“I was able to kind of realize, like, whoa, this woman has been grinding her whole life,” Vera said. “She’s gone nonstop for the past 20 years that I’ve been able to watch her.”

Lopez’s father died when she was 13, something she said helped her understand and navigate her own sons’ loss.

“My father was my best friend,” said Vera. “I could talk to him about anything.”

Through it all, education remained a pillar for Lopez. “My mom and dad were professionals,” she said. “They always told me, ‘What you learn, no one can take away from you.’

She eventually switched from biology to a degree that aligned more closely with her career: a Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management, with a focus on Leadership and Management Innovation. “I have a leadership personality,” she said.

While she was crossing the academic finish line, so was her son.

A graduate of John A. Ferguson Senior High, he completed his Associate in Arts in Finance at Miami Dade College and is now heading to Florida International University.

He also manages the custom upholstery business his father left behind, serving as CEO at just 20 years old.

“I tell young people all the time: you can do everything at the same time,” Lopez said. “You just have to be consistent, know what you want and take baby steps.”

This Mother’s Day, the Lopez family plans to gather at her Kendall home, grilling in the backyard, surrounded by dogs, cousins and an 84-year-old matriarch who made education a family priority. It won’t be a fancy affair, but it will be full of pride.

After all, this Mother’s Day, Lopez isn’t just Mom. She’s a graduate.