"Unless, we make plans to meet for dinner, lunch or something, we have never accidentally run into each other on campus. It's pretty funny," Fineday says, laughing.

Fineday says she believes that overall, she and her daughter have benefited from the unique circumstance of their simultaneous Harvard enrollment.

"It's been a really wonderful experience for both of us," Fineday says.

Because Lawson was born when her mother was completing her undergraduate degree, Lawson says that her mother has been forced to balance career and family all through undergraduate and graduate schools.

But now that she and her younger sister have grown older, Lawson says her mother can focus on the special experience of being a full-time student.

"[Going to the Kennedy School has been] good for her, so she can really enjoy school now," Lawson says.

However, because of her dedication to her daughter, Fineday says she is not planning to attend the entire Kennedy School graduation as it conflicts with Lawson's Mather House ceremonies.

"I've been through this a couple of times, so I figure it's more important to try to go to hers," Fineday says.

At Commencement, Fineday will be awarded her degree in public administration from the Kennedy School's year-long mid-career masters program. Afterwards, she plans to return home to work in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Lawson will spend the summer working for Let's Go in Egypt.

Both Lawson and Fineday are American Indian and originally hail from Walker, Minnesota--a small, rural town four hours North of the state's Twin cities.

Fineday, who already holds a B.A. in English and a law degree, has spent years working for tribes, practicing law and helping American Indian people in Minnesota. She is an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa tribe, and she and her two daughters have lived on a reservation in Minnesota.

The opportunity for Fineday to travel to Cambridge to pursue a masters degree at Harvard came after she was awarded a leadership fellowship from the Bush Foundation.

The foundation seeks to build a base of well-educated people in the Great Lakes area, according to Lawson.

As a part of her fellowship agreement, Fineday will return to work in Minneapolis to work as a litigation director for a small non-profit firm. Fineday will also be working as a tribal judge at an American Indian reservation.

Fineday says before deciding to apply to Harvard, she knew she wanted to do something involving public interest work. But she says she was surprised when the Bush Foundation actually recommended that she come to the Kennedy School at Harvard.