She Sent Her Quadruplets to UML. Now She’s Graduating, Too.

It’s rare for quadruplets to graduate from the same university. It’s even more rare to do so alongside one of their parents.

However, this spring, Maureen Whitcomb will join her four children as a UMass Lowell graduate, earning her business degree alongside her son Bryce.

Bryce, also a business major, is the last of the Whitcomb quadruplets to graduate from UMass Lowell — joining Andrew ’24, ’25, Colette ’23 and Diana ’23. Rather than watch Bryce cross the stage at the Tsongas Center from the stands, Whitcomb decided to join him.

“I didn’t want him to be alone,” she says. “That was always the goal — to graduate together.”

Whitcomb’s path to UMass Lowell has been anything but traditional. After first enrolling in community college in 1981, she left to work full time and later focused on raising her four children largely on her own.

“I watched other people get their degrees and move on to better jobs,” she says. “I didn’t want my kids to struggle like I did.”

Before her children graduated from Saugus High School, Whitcomb returned to school herself, earning an associate degree in marketing from North Shore Community College (NSCC) in 2018.

“I wanted to prove to my kids that I could do it,” says Whitcomb, a Saugus native whose own parents never attended college.

“My parents worked hard, but I saw how much they struggled,” she says. “To me, getting an education is about working smarter.”

That message resonated with her quadruplets, who each carved their own path at UML.

Diana majored in nursing and is now an operating room nurse at Winchester Hospital. Colette, a nutritional sciences grad, recently got an associate degree in radiologic technology from NSCC and is now working in CT imaging. Andrew, who earned his undergraduate business degree and master of business administration, is now pursuing a law degree at Suffolk University.

“When you’re raising kids, you want to make sure they become responsible adults and good citizens,” Whitcomb says. “I think I’ve succeeded at that.”

Bryce earned an associate degree in information technology from NSCC before transferring to UMass Lowell in January 2022. After initially struggling as a computer science and electrical engineering major, he found his place in the Manning School of Business, where he is graduating with a concentration in management information systems.

“Once I found what I liked, everything changed,” he says.

As Bryce worked his way toward his degree, Whitcomb saw an opportunity to do the same. She enrolled at UMass Lowell, taking classes part time while balancing her work responsibilities as a host, producer and camera operator for Saugus Community Television and her involvement in town government.

“If he was finishing, I was finishing too,” she says.

At UMass Lowell, Bryce helped his mother navigate math assignments — even teaching her how to use a calculator for her coursework — while Whitcomb continued to offer the same encouragement she had given her children for years. They even earned spots this year on the Chancellor’s List, which requires a minimum 3.85 GPA.

Last summer, they studied abroad together in Northern Ireland. During a three-week program at Queen’s University Belfast, they attended classes side by side while exploring the region’s history and culture.

“It was strange being in the same class together, but it was a beautiful trip,” Bryce says.

While mother and son haven’t been in a class together on campus, they have had common professors. One of their favorites was Adam Boudreau, an adjunct math professor who also taught Andrew.

“I can see where her sons get their work ethic. They never shied away from putting in the hours,” Boudreau says. “Maureen should be very proud of herself and her sons.”

For Whitcomb’s children, her bachelor’s degree represents years of sacrifice and perseverance.

“Not only is my mother the hardest-working person I’ve ever met, but she’s also a textbook example of what makes UMass Lowell an incredible university,” Andrew says. “She never gave up.”

“I remember her being so nervous going back to class,” Diana says. “But she kept showing up and pushing herself. I’ve never seen her so happy.”

“She raised all of us on her own and made it look easy, even when it wasn’t,” Colette says. “Everything she does comes from so much strength and love.”

For Bryce, graduating together is something he still struggles to put into words.

“It’s a combination of pride, joy and love,” he says, his voice welling with emotion. “I didn’t think I could do it at times, and I know how important this was to her.”

Whitcomb isn’t planning to slow down after graduation. Like Bryce, she is already considering returning to UML in the fall to pursue a master’s degree from the Manning School.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” she says. “You can do it.”