Penn Hills father, daughter graduate together from Duquesne University

A Penn Hills father and daughter were able to celebrate a special occasion together at Duquesne University’s commencement.

Arielle and Joshua Frederick both graduated from Duquesne on May 13 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Joshua Frederick earned his second master’s degree in analytics and information management, and his daughter earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration.

“It was nice to graduate together,” Arielle Frederick said. “It is something you already share with your family. To have him literally sit next to me was super fun.”

While Joshua Frederick still has one semester left, he said he was happy to be able to graduate early to celebrate a shared milestone with his daughter.

“I was excited to be able to sit with Arielle as she was able to sit at commencement, and enjoy that moment with her,” he said.

Following graduation, Arielle Frederick is working full-time at Medix as a recruiter. Joshua Frederick works for Mark Farrah Associates.

The two sitting together during such a milestone was not intentional, but coincidental. Jousha Frederick said his plan to return to school after earning his bachelor’s at Duquesne University in 2002 was prompted by his desire to revamp his resume. When covid arrived, he said, the time at home felt like the perfect time for him to go back.

“I wanted it to be where I would be able to finish around the same time Arielle did,” he said.

Duquesne was not the only school on Arielle Frederick’s list. She had considered Carnegie Mellon University and received a scholarship from Saint Vincent College. She said she ultimately chose Duquesne because of her family’s legacy, there with her dad being an alumnus and her mom working there for 15 years.

Since schooling was mainly online for Joshua Frederick, he said the pair were not able to share any fun campous memories, but he said there were moments professors would ask him about his daughter.

Arielle Frederick said it was nice to have her dad provide real-world advice as she evaluated her options with her major.

“It was nice he had more real world experience, and it was nice to know what my options were if I pursued a major. He would tell me what to expect,” she said.