An Illinois father shocked his family by revealing that he had stealthily earned a college degree from the same college his daughter was attending.
Mike Loven, 47, secretly studied finance and economics at Grand Canyon University while his daughter, Taleigh, studied psychology. Both graduated last October but their family only knew of Taleigh’s accomplishment.
On the night of his daughter’s graduation party, Loven knew that it would be the right time to unveil his four-year secret. He walked into their family room wearing a GCU alumni shirt, cap, and gown that matched Taleigh’s, showing everyone his diploma.
“The confusion was a lot of fun. I don’t keep secrets. [My wife] thought GCU had sent my daughter’s diploma and accidentally put my name on it,” Loven told Good Morning America.
The family was stunned by the revelation, especially his daughter, who didn’t realize that she was attending college alongside her dad.
“My first and only thought was that I was just so, so proud of him,” Taleigh told CNN. “I was like, wait, did you really go to college?”
Chasing Degrees
After graduating high school, Loven began working for the staffing company founded by his father, and things have continued that way ever since. He felt that pursuing a bachelor’s degree was only for people who wanted to become a doctor or lawyer, but in 2016 something changed.
“June 6th, 2016, I woke up in the middle of the night just with a feeling from God that I was going to go back to school and get my degree. And I was going to do it as a surprise to my family,” Loven explained to WGN TV.
As for hiding this from everyone for four years, the father of three just thought it would be a fun surprise.
“There was no malicious or real reason for hiding it from the family — I just thought the surprise would be so fun. I work a lot and I’m always on my laptop, so no one really knew that I was working on stuff for school all those years,” he said.
All the late nights might have been hard, but it pushed Loven closer to his goal and his family has never been prouder.