LEWISTON – Eileen Storck didn’t have any trouble finding a good seat to watch her daughter, Alyson, get her college diploma.

They sat in the same row, seven chairs apart.

A few minutes after Eileen, 46, cheered Alyson’s new degree, Alyson, 23, cheered Eileen’s.

After starting at Central Maine Community College two years ago, the mother and daughter graduated together Thursday.

“That night was pretty amazing. It was kind of like, ‘We did it!'” Alyson said.

It began two years ago with a mistake.

Alyson loved working with children but didn’t have the self-confidence to go for an education degree. To encourage her to apply to college – and to show how easy the process was – Eileen walked her though the online application to Central Maine Community College in Auburn.

“To not look pushy, I was filling it all out in my name,” Eileen said.

At the end, when it asked for the application fee, Eileen backed out of the application and left her daughter to fill it out if she wanted. Alyson still didn’t apply.

But Eileen accidentally had.

That just-for-show online application went through. A few weeks later, Eileen got an acceptance letter.

“I showed the letter to my daughter, and we were all kind of excited, but just like, ‘Do I go? Do I do this? What do I do?'” she said.

For years, Eileen ran a hair salon out of her home while she raised her two children. She loved kids and dreamed of teaching, but was never able to go to college. Suddenly, the opportunity was in front of her.

It felt like it was meant to be.

Still, the acceptance was conditional. Eileen had to take a placement exam before she could enroll. Concerned she wouldn’t do well, she didn’t tell anyone she was taking it.

“I scored higher than I even dreamed I could,” Eileen said. “I came home and said to my daughter, ‘Don’t be afraid of the placement test. This is what I did today.'”

That night, Alyson applied.

Within weeks, mother and daughter were taking classes – Eileen for education and Alyson for early childhood education.

Although they signed up for courses separately, the women ended up sharing a lot of classes – including, ironically, a class called “Sociology of the Family.” At first, Eileen was concerned her daughter would feel smothered.

“I would always say to her, ‘If at any time you’re uncomfortable with this, then you need to let me know because I’ll change my schedule,'” Eileen said. “I really wanted it to be her experience. This was her time to go.”

But Alyson enjoyed sharing school with her mother. They were close as mother and daughter before. College brought them close as friends.

“I said, ‘Wow, my mom has political views.’ I never thought of her like that before,” Alyson said.

The two helped each other through school. Alyson tutored Eileen in science. Eileen coached her daughter through statistics.

Their grade-point averages were so high that both were inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.

For some mothers and daughters, a shared college experience might have been awkward. It never was for the Storcks.

“It was just different. It wasn’t like I was the mom figure so much anymore,” Eileen said. “I truly got to watch my daughter grow in a different sense.”

Though, she admitted, “Sometimes the mother mode would kick in, and I’d have to fight that.”

On Thursday, Eileen and Alyson shared one more college experience: graduation.

Although it’s not unusual for parents and children to attend CMCC at the same time, it’s uncommon for them to graduate at the same time.

“For me, it wasn’t so much about me as it was being able to be there as a mom watching my daughter,” Eileen said. “In fact, I didn’t even necessarily want to do the ceremony because I just wanted to be a mom. She said, ‘You still are. You’re just getting a better seat.'”

Graduation doesn’t mark the end of the Storcks’ college careers. Alyson has been accepted to the University of Southern Maine’s natural and applied sciences program. She’s considering a master’s degree in occupational therapy. She wants a career working with kids with special needs.

Eileen has also applied to USM. She wants a bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral sciences and a teaching career.

Both plan to attend USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College.

“She has set such a wonderful example for me,” Alyson said. “It helps me to realize, you know, wow, don’t give up on your dreams.”