When Jane Fitzgerald saw her daughter Charity accept her college diploma, her heart filled with pride -- and relief. "When I saw her up there on that stage, I thought, 'Yeah, no more tuition,' " she said.
Times that relief by five.That's how many members of the Fitzgerald family are graduating from college this spring. Jane Fitzgerald is among them, earning a master's degree in education from Utah State University.
Then there's Charity, who was awarded a bachelor of arts in marketing communication from Brigham Young University on Friday.
Next comes daughter Heather Fitzgerald Jorgensen, another USU master's of education graduate; son Andrew, who will receive his law degree from the University of Utah in a month; and Andrew's wife, Autumn Riley
Fitzgerald, who has earned a bachelor's of science degree in philosophy.
The family, all from Murray, is feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
Final papers and exams came about the same time. Everyone is shelling out extra cash for caps and gowns. And it's tough coordinating this schedule.
"We'll have three commencement exercises on May 5," said Jane, with a tense laugh. "We'll be running from Logan to Salt Lake City all day."
It's hasn't been an easy couple of years with so many tuition, fees and books to pay for.
"Our children have all had jobs and worked very hard," said Jane, who along with her husband, Kent, has helped pay for their children's education.
Heather, the oldest of the graduates, who's already a teacher in the Jordan School District, says she's scrounged for ways to cut her grocery bill.
Andrew jokes that with his student loans, he's living off of the good graces of the federal government.
Some scholarship money here and there has helped, too.
"But when Charity applied at BYU, I thought the fact that we had four other family members in school might help them see a need," said Jane. "I was informed by the school that lots of Utah families have that many in college."
In fact, a family like the Fitzgeralds is what higher education officials in Utah hold up as an example when deliberating whether or not to increase tuition.
Compared to peer institutions in other parts of the country, Utah's tuition rates are low. Multiply that financial burden by two, three or even five, however, and whole families are priced out of a college education.
But it isn't just budgets the Fitzgeralds have learned to juggle.
"It looked like a study hall at our house all the time, waiting for the computer and lights on all hours of the night," said Jane.
"I had an easier time getting on a computer on campus at the lab than at home," said Charity.
But there were also opportunities to study together.
Unbeknownst to either one, Jane and Heather registered for the same education class at USU one semester.
"It was nice, we'd drive to class together and really got a chance to talk," Heather said.
The Fitzgeralds could also unburden the frustrations of college life onto a sympathetic ear.
"Like the high-cost, low-quality BYU-approved housing," grumbled Charity. Her brother Andrew got to exercise his budding law skills in a frustrating dispute with a landlord.
Autumn's biggest school frustration was student services at the U. "They lost an entire class from my freshman year off of my transcripts," she said.
Andrew's biggest college gripe is a law library at the U. that is much older than the one at BYU, an observation that hints at some subtle school rivalry.
"When you sit downstairs and listen to this family watch a game, someone is always cheering or booing, no matter which team is in the lead," Heather said.
"BYU just thinks they're No. 1 all the time," Andrew said with a wicked wink for Charity.
But the exchange is good-natured, since the family has a mutual respect for higher education.
"Andrew here is a fourth-generation graduate from the U.," said his father, Kent. "Beyond tradition, my parents always said to get an education, and they didn't really equate it so much with a monetary reward."
College is where you learn to think, said Jane.
"It's where you learn to think for yourself," Andrew clarified.
"This family really emphasizes the importance of books," said Autumn, "and that there is so much in life to learn."
Life really doesn't begin until you're in college. That's the lesson the Fitzgerald children say they want to pass on to a new generation of graduates.