Spring Hill woman graduates, gets hitched all in same day

Hundreds of online students from across the country traveled to this snow-covered town for graduation ceremonies earlier this month, but only one made her graduation day and wedding day all in one day.

Tricia Giordano, 34, of Spring Hill, graduated at 1 p.m. with an online master's degree in Organizational Management. She then made a quick change from her cap and gown to a wedding gown and got married at 3 p.m. Her married name is printed on the diploma.

Tricia's mother, from Naples, was the maid of honor. Her father, from Maine, walked her down the aisle. The groom's mom from Tennessee and many other family members were there for both ceremonies.

"Our families wanted to come to Clinton for my graduation, so it was an ideal opportunity to have everyone together to share in our wedding, too," she said.

Before the ceremonies, she had never been to Ashford University's brick and mortar campus.

"It's beautiful. With the hills and historic brick buildings, it looks like an Ivy League school," she said.

"The graduation and wedding were beyond my expectations," she added. "There was an announcement at graduation that my wedding would be held at the chapel. Some of my online classmates, who I'd never met face-to-face, came to the wedding."

"Ashford University was amazing. I was only expecting to have my bouquet of flowers but, at the last minute the president of the university arranged for wonderful music and floral arrangements.

Minutes before the wedding, a student volunteered to play music, said Jane McAuliffe, chief executive officer and president. "He played from the heart with no music in front of him and it was wonderful. About 30 of Ashford's staff attended the ceremony, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house."

One event magnified the other, Tricia said.

"I had two major rites of passage back-to-back, plus the opportunity to share both of them with my family," she added.

"We all looked at name cards to see if we were in classes together," Tricia said. "It was a nice, shared experience. I met my academic adviser. She was an integral part of my education. Coming to graduation allowed me to say 'Thank you for your help' in person."

According to the Sloan Consortium, online education enrollments now surpass traditional college enrollments by a 5 to 1 ratio.