For one Lone Star College-Kingwood employee, graduation day was twice as meaningful as he and his son earned their degrees together.
For several years, Miguel Avalos has worked as a maintenance technician at Lone Star College-Kingwood. He never imagined he would one day become a student again.
But on Saturday, May 16, Miguel and his son, Axel Avalos, walked across the stage at the M.O. Campbell Educational Center in Houston to receive their first college degrees together.
“I graduated from Nimitz High School back in 1999, and my mom and dad were working, so they did not attend my graduation. No one did,” Miguel said. “I’m the oldest in my family and was the only one of my four brothers to graduate from high school.”
Miguel said he decided to pursue higher education after encouraging his son to enroll in classes.
“I was lost, and I asked a really nice lady for directions,” he said. “I told her I was trying to sign my son up for classes. I also told her I worked for Lone Star College, and she suggested I sign up for classes, too. She said, ‘If you ever need help with anything, please let me know — my name is Dr. Melissa Gonzalez.’ At the time, I did not know who she was. Now I’m amazed by all the great things she does for our students.”
Axel said he chose Lone Star College-Kingwood because of his father’s employment at the college and because it was close to home.
“It was not easy keeping up with my dad,” Axel said. “It was a challenge, but we made it.”
“It was challenging,” Miguel agreed. “I graduated more than 25 years ago, and for me to go back to school was not easy. But God made it happen, and I owe it all to Him.”
The father and son are not finished with higher education just yet. Both have plans to pursue bachelor’s degrees in business administration at the University of Houston.
Lone Star College System enrolls over 90,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSCS is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Mario K. Castillo, J.D. serves as Chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area. LSC has been named a 2025 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education. LSCS consists of eight colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit Lonestar.edu.
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