Mom puts studies on hold for kids, makes epic comeback to graduate Yale with son by her side

A 50-year-old mom graduated from Yale School of Nursing with a Master of Science in Nursing, sharing her final year with her son, who had just finished his first year there.

Vanessa Landegger began her medical studies in Colorado in 2000 while caring for her 8-month-old baby.

Balancing classes and childcare was challenging without nearby family support, and she struggled with a lack of sleep.

Additionally, her medical school lacked facilities for nursing mothers.

“In retrospect, I was hit pretty hard by how unforgiving clinical education generally is,” Vanessa, told The Washington Post.

She left her studies early, but she didn’t give up.

Recently, she graduated from Yale School of Nursing. Her son, Dylan Antonioli, who’s now 24 and also studying nursing, supported her.

She had paused her medical studies to raise him, but he motivated her to come back to the field later on.

“The ceremony was extremely healing,” she said.

Vanessa considered becoming a doctor decades ago while she and her husband planned to start a family.

They decided she would apply to medical school, have their first child, and then start classes later.

However, once she began her program, balancing parenthood and studying became difficult.

Despite her husband’s help in caring for their son, she still struggled to manage both responsibilities and felt unhappy.

Vanessa wanted to quit, but before leaving, she insisted on taking the midterm exams that year.

She explained that she didn’t want anyone to question her ability to succeed.

Later on, Vanessa looked at the exam results on the board and saw she was third.

She went there with a letter she wrote to leave medical school. The school wanted her to stay, but she decided to choose her son over her studies.

She said it was good for her to think about someone else’s needs.

Vanessa earned master’s degrees in public health and education, opting for these fields while raising her children.

She became a teacher in Connecticut, caring for her three kids, including Dylan.

Though she initially envisioned a career in medicine, she didn’t regret leaving medical school.

However, she still felt a sense of unease.

In 2018, Vanessa discovered what she had been missing when her son Dylan, who had completed training as an emergency medical technician, encouraged her to take the same course.

“It’s more accessible, so I thought maybe she’d like to have a little taste of medicine again,” Dylan said.

Initially, Vanessa took an EMT course to handle emergencies at her elementary school.

But in 2019, the pandemic struck, emphasizing the importance of EMT work.

Meanwhile, Dylan returned home from Georgetown University due to the pandemic.

Both he and Vanessa started working EMT shifts in New Canaan, supporting each other through busy days amidst the chaos.

Vanessa felt perfectly suited to her work as an EMT, receiving praise for her patient interactions and interest in cases.

Feeling comfortable and competent, she couldn’t ignore this calling.

While she didn’t want to go back to medical school, she desired more than EMT work. Becoming a nurse practitioner felt like the right balance for her.

Vanessa began preparing for nursing school by taking online courses at Georgetown, including one with Dylan.

She commenced the three-year program at Yale in 2021.

Meanwhile, Dylan, uncertain about his post-graduation plans, completed his psychology degree at Georgetown. He shared Vanessa’s interest in healthcare.

In 2022, Landegger suggested he shadow one of her Yale professors, a nurse practitioner at a Connecticut hospital.

“I just fell in love with it,” Dylan said.

He followed his mother’s path, applying for Yale’s Master of Science in Nursing to finish by 2026.

As they both trained to be nurse practitioners, they appreciated the rare chance to attend the same school as a mother-son team.

At Dylan’s orientation, Vanessa led the way, revealing their familial connection to surprised classmates.

She also guided him on his first-year courses and they made a point to meet on campus between classes whenever possible.

When Vanessa graduated on May 20, Dylan attended her master’s program graduation for the third time.

However, this time, he was not just a spectator but also her classmate.

During the ceremony, Vanessa, who will soon work as a midwife at a Connecticut hospital, kept looking back at Dylan.

Her graduation brought back memories of her struggles during the program’s first year when seeing the end goal was challenging.

Vanessa, a Master of Science in Nursing graduate, hoped the ceremony would reassure her son that he, too, would find his way.

“I just felt like this was a moment in which the end was in sight,” she said, “and he could cast his mind forward.”