Mom, 3 Daughters To Earn Degrees From GSU On Same Day

ATLANTA, GA — When Georgia State University holds its commencements later this month, three generations of women will grace the stage.

A mother and three daughters from Austell, two of them twins, will be among hundreds graduating from the Atlanta-based university Wednesday at the Georgia State Convocation Center.

Mom Quila Lee, 53, teaches at Babb Middle School in Forest Park and will be receiving a master of arts in teaching with a concentration in secondary education, according to GSU.

Then, there is her daughter, 31-year-old Rakiya Lee, who is following in her mother's footsteps and earning a master of public administration. According to GSU officials, Rakiya Lee acquired a bachelor of science in criminal justice in 2017.

And finally, twins Kamiya and Kalaya Lee, both age 22, will receive biology degree with plans to become a doctor and go into veterinary medicine respectively.

“Twenty-two years ago, you never could have told me these girls and I would be graduating together,” Quila Lee told GSU. “As any mother would be, I am so proud of them.”

The Lees are from Detroit, Michigan but have lived in Austell since 2007, according to GSU.

Education appears to surround the four women. GSU reported Quila Lee and "lifelong learner" has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Kentucky State University, and the twins transferred to GSU from Alabama State University.

“When twins came home in May 2022, we were looking at their course catalog and they said they’d be done in May 2025," Rakiya Lee told GSU. "It didn’t dawn on me until a year later that I’d be done in May 2025, too.”

It was Quila Lee's husband, Erik, who suggested GSU when she thought about furthering her career and education, GSU reported.

Kamiya and Kalaya Lee plan to attend their older sister and mother's graduation ceremonies, and sometime later, Quila and Rakiya Lee will join other family members to see the twins graduate.

Looking ahead, Quila Lee desires to start a youth-based nonprofit named Sheryl's Haven, according to GSU. Not only will the organization be her mother's namesake, it will stand for the acronym, Sharing Hope through Empowerment and Repositioning Yourself for a Lifetime of Success."

Rakiya Lee is considering law school as she ponders practicing family law, GSU reported.

Kamiya Lee will resume her education in spring 2026, when she will be entering the GSU School of Public Health’s Master of Public Health program. But before then, she will work as a pharmacy technician and an assistant in a women's clinic. GSU reported her goal is to become an obstetrician/gynecologist.

Kalaya Lee, waiting to be accepted into the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine, will polish her skills by assisting at a local veterinary clinic. Working with exotic animals and wildlife could be in her future, GSU reported.

Read their full story here.