So many members of the Twitmyer family have attended the University of Pennsylvania, one might conclude that red and blue pumps through their veins.

The latest Twitmyers to take to Franklin Field for commencement are Robert and his son Tucker. They are part of a long line of distinguished Twitmyer alums. Robert's grandfather, chairman of the University's psychology department around the turn of the century, earned his master's and doctorate here. Robert's father, mother and brother also graduated from Penn.

Robert and Tucker aren't so much carrying on the family tradition as revisiting it. Robert got a bachelor's in economics from Wharton in 1958; Tucker graduated from Penn in 1990 with a bachelor's in political science.

This time around, Robert left Franklin Field with a master's degree in dynamics of organization. Tucker walked off with an MBA.

Robert, a consultant and the president of the National Slag Association, started working on his graduate degree five years ago. "People ask me why I did this at my age," he said. "I tell them because I wanted to renew my resources."

In 1994, Robert was joined by Tucker, who studied full-time. Robert, a part-time student, picked up the pace when he realized he had the unique opportunity to graduate with his son. "Near the end, when I saw what might happen, I made sure I got my thesis done," he said.

Tucker may have given his father incentive to work faster, but Robert gave his son incentive to work harder. "Dad got better grades than I did," Tucker said, laughing. "So that was a lot of encouragement to do better."

Although they had no courses together, Robert and Tucker would often meet after class to discuss their studies. That, according to Robert, was one of the best parts of their recent academic experience: "This was a wonderful opportunity for a parent to see his son, and get a chance to talk to him about my program and how it was changing my outlook on life and my attitudes, and to hear about his program."

For Sonja Stumacher, commencement signified the end of four years of hard work. For Sonja's mother, Bonnie Insull, commencement signified the end of a task undertaken nearly a quarter century ago.

After receiving her bachelor's degree in music from Penn in 1969, Bonnie immediately chose to pursue her master's degree. But, with only a thesis standing between her and her goal, fate intervened.

"My mother became ill from cancer and she needed someone at home," Bonnie said. "Then she died."

It was a time for mourning. It was also a time for celebration. "The same week, this amazing person, Sonja Stumacher, began to grow inside me," she said.

After that, "life took off," as Bonnie put it. Facing the demands of motherhood and her career as teacher and musician, she didn't have time for her master's thesis.

As Sonja got older, it was obvious she possessed the creative energy of her mother, a gifted flutist. However, she chose to express herself through words, not music.

"I've always liked the humanities and literature--more specifically, writing," said Sonja, a former columnist for The Daily Pennsylvanian. Naturally, she declared English as her major at Penn.

With her daughter studying at her alma mater, Bonnie longed to complete the journey she had postponed 24 years earlier. During Sonja's senior year, she was finally free to do it. She had retired as the executive director of Music for People, a non-profit organization that gives music-improvisation workshops, and had a reduced teaching load at Keene State College.

Initially, Bonnie was apprehensive about returning to Penn. "It takes a little courage after two decades to call your old music department and say, 'Can I still write my thesis?' " she explained.

Yet call she did. She spoke to Lawrence Bernstein, graduate chair of the music department, who knew her back in the '70s. Since Bonnie's thesis was on the Bach arias that used flute obbligatos, Bernstein paired her with music professor Eugene Wolf, an expert on the 18th century, who showed her all of the advances in research technology.

"The fact that she is a very bright person and had the initiative to do this meant that she was willing to spend lots more time in the library than one of our present-day students would have to do because she obviously had to do a lot of catching up," Wolf said.

Although he hadn't heard from Bonnie for more than two decades, Bernstein wasn't completely surprised by her call. "There are a lot of people who, under the pressures of one life situation or another, decide not to finish their degree, but come close," he said. "The notion of wishing to achieve closure becomes an important factor in some later stage in life."

With commencement completed, Bonnie has finally achieved that closure. She thanks her daughter--and fellow graduate--for inspiring her achievement. "In a certain way, at a certain age, your children lead you," Bonnie said. "I thought: 'Sonja's graduating. If she can do it, I can do it.' "

Return to Compass Features for May 21/28, 1996