Black Woman Earns Two Degrees From Two Different Universities in the Same Week

Ashley Williams, woman who graduated from two colleges in the same week

In 2019, Ashley Williams made history after earning two degrees simultaneously from two different institutions. She earned a Master’s degree in political management from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and just two days later received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Her story is a great example of dreaming big despite having setbacks in life.
One of Ashley's main obstacles was having to deal with rejections from schools during two separate admission cycles. However, just one year into her Master’s program, and after many cycles of law school rejections, Williams was finally accepted into UPenn’s JD program.

Another highlight of this major accomplishment is that Ashley was working as an advisor and the Director of Special Projects to the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues while in college. She admits that it wasn't easy, but she was determined to be strategic.

She comments, “During my first year of school, I stopped my Master’s program so I could focus on law full time. The summer following my first year, I resumed my Master’s program and simultaneously did Law and my Master’s until I completed my Master’s in December of 2018 - which I did while I was studying abroad in Tokyo.”

Williams hopes that her journey will encourage others to do the same.