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As students nationwide anxiously don their caps and gowns this graduation season, three Baltimore sisters are celebrating their achievements in unison.
This year, the Wood sisters —Savannah, Portia and Jamaica —all graduated from college. Though their respective fields differ, a drive for success is definitely apparent among the trio.
“We’re very pleased that they’ve been able to train at good schools and achieve success in the academic world,” the girls’ father, Dr. James Wood told the AFRO in a recent interview. “I’m very proud of them.”
Savannah, the youngest of the group, graduated cum laude and earned a bachelor’s degree in photography with a minor in French and entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California.
Portia received a juris doctorate from the University Of Maryland School of Law. This year, she was accepted as an Asper Fellow for the Hon. Andre M. Davis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She works at the state attorney’s office for Baltimore City and plans to sit for the Maryland and California Bar examinations.
Jamaica will receive a master’s degree in business administration from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. This summer, she will move to Chicago to work at Kraft Foods. During the months of May and June, she will travel to Spain and Portugal.
Wood explained that education has always been important to their family, and the trait didn’t stop short with his daughters.
“They’ve always been serious about their education,” Wood said. “It’s surprising…they all operate a little differently. One was an ‘OK’ student, but turned into a very good student. Another has always been a great student and she continued that behavior. And the third one was always a good student who really excelled while she was in college. Each one had their own different learning styles.”
He added that while having three daughters in school at the same time wasn’t an easy task, he and his family came together and ultimately made it happen.
“It was a challenge, but planning it in foresight helped somewhat, and we were just fortunate that they were all on track and taking some responsibilities for their own education,” he said. “ has been challenging but we were able to pull it off. We had to make some sacrifices and just had good luck.”
