{"id":12455,"date":"2025-05-21T09:01:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12455"},"modified":"2025-05-21T09:01:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:01:44","slug":"pomp-and-a-full-circle-circumstance-for-mother-son-graduates","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/pomp-and-a-full-circle-circumstance-for-mother-son-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"Pomp and a full-circle circumstance for mother-son graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Jennifer (Biidaasinokwe) Cadotte and Ryan (Ayaabe) Bunker are living proof that persistence leads to success. This mother-son duo not only shared the experience of attending the University of Wisconsin\u2013Superior, but also celebrated a remarkable full-circle moment: they graduated together.<\/p>\n

Thirty years ago, Cadotte made the difficult decision to pause her education to raise her three young children, including Ryan. She prioritized work to support her growing family. This spring, she completed what she started, proving it\u2019s never too late to reach a goal.<\/p>\n

She reflected on the timing that brought them to this moment: \u201cIn 2023, while watching my son Ryan thrive as a full-time UW\u2013Superior student, McNair Fellow, and parent, I felt inspired,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis determination rekindled something in me. With the flexibility of UW\u2013Superior\u2019s\u00a0distance learning program<\/a>\u00a0and the relevance of the\u00a0communicating arts<\/a>\u00a0degree to my work in tribal public relations, I knew it was time to finish what I started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rooted in Education and Family Values<\/h3>\n

Cadotte, from the Hayward, Wisconsin area, is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Tribe. Her late father, Gerald Cadotte, worked as a college recruiter at Nicolet College in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

\u201cEducation was always very important in our house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cadotte initially enrolled at Nicolet to study computer science, but became pregnant during her first year and had to pause her education. Over the years, she continued to pursue learning, studying at Augsburg University in Minneapolis and taking courses at UW\u2013Platteville. Eventually, she earned an associate\u2019s degree in general education from Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University. Still, she always dreamed of earning her bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

Throughout her life, Cadotte worked tirelessly while caring for ailing relatives. Her professional journey has included running a daycare, driving a school bus, and nearly two decades in academia. She currently serves as the public relations specialist for the LCO Tribe.<\/p>\n

Bunker is currently pursuing a master\u2019s degree in public administration at UW\u2013Oshkosh and expects to graduate in fall 2026. He also works full time as a Tribal Technical Assistance Specialist for the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council.<\/p>\n

He is the father of a 9-year-old son, Princeton (Naawigiizhig), who had the unique experience of watching both his father and grandmother graduate together.<\/p>\n

Walking the Stage<\/h3>\n

This week, Cadotte and Bunker walked the commencement stage together, each earning a bachelor\u2019s degree \u2013 Cadotte in communicating arts and Bunker in\u00a0psychology<\/a>. Cadotte also received her program\u2019s Outstanding Achievement in Communication Award.<\/p>\n

Originally, she was on track to graduate a semester after her son. However, her academic advisor, Professor\u00a0Brent Notbohm<\/a>, encouraged her to accelerate her studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knew I was only nine credits shy of graduating with my son,\u201d she recalled. \u201cHe really encouraged me to push myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the big day approached, mother and son reflected on their shared accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy kids are the reason I\u2019ve worked so hard,\u201d Cadotte said. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones who motivated me. Achieving this goal alongside my son is hard to put into words \u2013 it\u2019s a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud of her,\u201d Bunker said. \u201cMy mom has always supported and guided me. I\u2019ve always encouraged her to finish her degree. The timing of this is just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cadotte plans to continue in her current public relations role, while Bunker hopes to enter the field of law enforcement after completing his master\u2019s program.<\/p>\n

A Message of Hope and Resilience<\/h3>\n

Cadotte and Bunker hope their story can inspire others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe come from an underserved community, with a lot of struggles,\u201d Cadotte said. \u201cYou don\u2019t always see a lot of success stories coming out of our community. We want to be an example of overcoming adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re both non-traditional students who didn\u2019t give up on our education,\u201d Bunker added. \u201cWe\u2019ve both had to work really hard to balance work, school, and family. It\u2019s been hard work, but it\u2019s so worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Written by UW-Superior<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwsuper.edu\/about\/news\/pomp-and-a-full-circle-circumstance-for-mother-son-graduates\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jennifer (Biidaasinokwe) Cadotte and Ryan (Ayaabe) Bunker are living proof that persistence leads to success. This mother-son duo not only shared the experience of attending the University of Wisconsin\u2013Superior, but also celebrated a remarkable full-circle moment: they graduated together. Thirty years ago, Cadotte made the difficult decision to pause her education to raise her three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[110],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12455","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-superior"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12455"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}