It’s not all that unusual for a daughter to attend the same university her mother attended. It’s a little different, however, when their tenures are only two years apart.

Melanie Fahrner started at Webster University in 1982 — that is until life intervened. Fahrner got married, gave birth to two children and later divorced. She struggled to raise two kids on a next to minimum wage job.

It wasn’t until she remarried years later that Fahrner took another crack at college.

“I always had fond memories of Webster,” Fahrner said, “the sense of community, the faculty and the intimate class sizes. When I decided to return to school nearly 18 years later, I really didn’t consider any other school.”

Fahrner re-enrolled in 2000 and pursued a major in Media Communications. She vowed to give nothing but her best and set a positive example for her kids along the way.

“I wanted to be a good role model for my children to show that all the hard work and dedication would pay off,” she said. “They lived through my financial struggles when they were young and I wanted them to know how important a college education was to succeed.”

Fahrner graduated in December 2002 with departmental honors and inspired her daughter Ashley Harrison along the way. Harrison transferred to Webster in 2004.



“I was drawn to Webster because of the success my mom had throughout, and after, her education,” Harrison said. “It seemed like there was a sense of community and family (at Webster) as opposed to larger universities where students are merely a number lost in a crowd.”

It was hard for Harrison to get lost with the support of her mother.

“My mom always pushed me to do my best and have faith in my abilities, even when I was unsure of them,” Harrison said. “She taught me every choice I made while in school was part of a bigger goal and my journey didn’t end with my diploma — that was truly just the beginning.”

Harrison earned a BA in Advertising and Marketing Communications in 2004 and said she learned just as much about herself and her mother as she did about the communications industry.

“I learned that I am a lot more like my mom than I thought,” she said.

Fahrner agreed.

“I learned that Ashley and I are even more alike than I had thought,” she said. “We have similar work ethics and goals; the same distaste for mediocre work; and a great satisfaction for a job well-done.”

Harrison now works an account coordinator at Advertising Savants in St. Louis. Fahrner works as a communications director at Coventry Health Care/GHP in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Do you have a similar story to share? E-mail scan@webster.edu

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• Words from the Dean

• Sounds Good to Me:
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