Mother and daughter to celebrate graduation together at Wright State

Mother-daughter graduates Kristina Bringman, left, and Chloë Johnston will celebrate back-to-back commencement ceremonies at Wright State University. Bringman will receive her master’s degree on Friday, with Johnston following in her footsteps during Saturday’s ceremony. (Photos by Erin Pence)

When Chloë Johnston receives her diploma at Wright State University’s commencement ceremony this Saturday, she’ll have an unusual cheerleader in the crowd — her mother, Kristina Bringman, who will have earned her own degree from Wright State just one day earlier.

“I’m really proud of her. She’s worked so hard,” Bringman said tearfully, looking at her daughter, Johnston.

With equal emotion, Johnston replied, “I’m really proud of her. As long as I can remember, Mom had talked about going back to school. It’s awesome to see her get her dream.”

This weekend, the Huber Heights residents will achieve a rare milestone as they both receive degrees from Wright State: Bringman, a master’s in English literature, and Johnston, bachelor’s degrees in history and political science.

They will join nearly 1,460 fellow graduates celebrating their academic achievements at the Nutter Center:

• Graduate Ceremony: Friday, May 2, 7 p.m.
• Undergraduate Ceremony: Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m.

What makes their story particularly remarkable is that this shared graduation weekend wasn’t meticulously planned. As Johnston said, “the stars sort of aligned.”

Johnston, a 2020 high school graduate, had initially planned to attend a university farther from home, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, decided to stay close to home and enrolled at Wright State.

Meanwhile, Bringman, who earned her bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in professional writing from Wright State in 2022, continued her academic journey by pursuing a master’s degree at the university. Her progress temporarily paused while she helped her father and sister care for her mother, who was recovering from surgery.

Johnston’s initial graduation timeline extended when she added political science as a second major, pushing her ceremony to this year. Bringman’s graduation shifted from last fall to this spring, creating their dual celebration.

Johnston is also looking forward to graduating in front of family, friends and a full audience after experiencing a pandemic-limited commencement ceremony in high school.

They have found multiple ways to connect throughout their overlapping time at Wright State. Both serve as writing coaches in the Writing Center and have made time to meet on campus between classes and commitments.

“Sometimes I would ask her, ‘Want to get sushi at the Union?’” Bringman said. “It was great to have that extra time with her that I didn’t think I was going to get.”

Of sharing time at Wright State with her mother, Johnston said, “It’s been a lot of fun.”

After graduation, both women will embark on new academic and professional ventures.

Bringman will begin an online master’s degree in creative writing for fiction at the University of Texas, El Paso. She will continue her work as a publications and communications specialist for WORDBridge Now, a teacher-enrichment program, while maintaining editing roles at Decolonial Passage literary magazine and The Dark Man: Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies.

Johnston will remain at Wright State to pursue a master’s degree in international and comparative politics.

Kristina Bringman and her daughter Chloë Johnston have found multiple ways to connect throughout their overlapping time at Wright State, working in the Writing Center and meeting regularly on campus.

Both mother and daughter credit Wright State for providing them with valuable growth opportunities.

“I can’t say enough good things about the English department,” Bringman said. “The whole program is solid.”

Johnston agreed, saying, “Wright State has given me a lot of opportunities for success.”

She highlighted her experience with Alpha Xi Delta sorority, which helped develop her leadership skills, and her participation in the award-winning Model United Nations program. Johnston earned individual awards at both the 2024 and 2025 National Model U.N. Conferences in New York City.

“I cannot sing the praises of Model U.N. enough,” she said.

The program challenged her to conduct research and present herself diplomatically, pushing her out of her comfort zone.

After representing Spain in 2024, Johnston and her classmates were further challenged by representing Russia at the 2025 national conference.

“It was a little more difficult, a whole different experience,” she said. “It got me out of my comfort zone even further.”

Bringman agreed with her daughter’s assessment of Wright State, noting that students are provided “lots of opportunities for success.”

Those opportunities have culminated in another shared experience this weekend as Johnston and Bringham celebrate their academic achievements together.