KINGSTON, R.I. – May 5, 2025 – Having a family get their degrees from the same university isn’t new. While it happens with varying frequency, it isn’t often that almost the entire family graduates at the same time. For Ethan Jedson and his family, the University of Rhode Island’s Commencement Weekend May 16-18 will be a busy one.

On graduation weekend, Ethan won’t be the only Jedson celebrating. He will be joined by his brother, sister, and mom – all collecting degrees from URI. His twin brother, Alex, will be graduating from the College of Engineering; his sister, Emily, from the College of Health Sciences; and his mother, Allison, with a doctorate in nursing practice.

“We say our blood runs Keaney Blue,” said Ethan. “This is a perfect example of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when you’re able to graduate with the four-way finish.”

For students across the country, May marks the end of a long journey. A journey that started with them going off to college. Some travel hours to move on campus their first year. But for Ethan, it was a short, 30-minute drive from his West Greenwich home.

In fact, Ethan grew up within earshot of one of URI’s campuses. He has fond memories of growing up and looking at the picturesque pines that border the W. Alton Jones Campus, a 2,300-acre estate that has its own lake and miles of trails.

“We attended summer camps at the Alton Jones Campus in West Greenwich as kids,” said Ethan. “My first job was a camp counselor over there for one of the summer camps.”

It’s a scenic drive that symbolizes where his journey began, a chapter he’ll soon close on the way to new beginnings as he prepares to graduate from URI’s College of Business. Unlike many of his peers, Ethan will graduate having majored in four fields of study—finance, accounting, applied economics, and Spanish.

Like many of his classmates, the years spent on URI’s campus have been formative. At graduations, you hear the word family thrown around. This is true in multiple ways for Ethan, not just merely the fact that he’ll join the Rhody alumni family.

His father, Christian, graduated from URI with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1991 and earned his MBA in 2001. His mom earned her nursing degree from URI in 1993 and her master’s degree in nursing in 1997. Then, there is his brother and sister.

Though everything lined up perfectly for all to graduate together that wasn’t the original plan.

The plan wasn’t always for him, his brother, and sister to even attend URI. Ethan applied to 20 schools; the maximum allowed on the common app. Though he lived so close to campus and had family ties, he still took a campus tour. 

But it wasn’t his family ties, the idyllic New England campus or the Fascitelli fitness center that sold Ethan. It was a close neighbor who happened to be the coordinator for URI’s International Business Program. 

“Donna Gamache-Griffiths has been a fantastic mentor of mine and had spoken to me about the opportunity, I knew about the program before exploring the College of Business, so that was on my radar,” he said.

His brother was sold on a similar program, URI’s International Engineering Program. Both programs are five years long. Because of this, it allowed them to live a full year abroad and graduate with their younger sister, who completed her degree in the traditional four years. 

“My mom tried to play the game where she didn’t want to graduate with us and steal our thunder,” said Ethan. “We were like, ‘No, absolutely not, this is even better, you have to graduate with us.’”

He knew he had to major in a language as part of the International Business Program, but he learned that he would graduate in 2½ years. He talked with his College of Business advisor about adding a third major.

Ultimately, he settled on getting a Bachelor of Science degree in applied economics from the College of Arts and Sciences, coupled with his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the college and degrees in finance and accounting from the College of Business.

“I think it’s interesting because the material in one class blends into another, especially with finance,” he said. “You can take your knowledge of a financial statement in accounting and marry that with macroeconomic trends from economics.”

Though everyone but his father will graduate this month, Ethan will admit there were talks that Emily would stay an extra year and use up her eligibility. She’s an ice hockey player.

Always a tight-knit family, he and his brother went overseas at the same time and spent a year in Spain. Ethan ended up doing his schooling at Universidad de Zaragoza in Zaragoza.

“I would say going over there we were as fluent as you could be at URI. But being there it’s trial by fire; you have to speak to eat and find a place to live,” said Ethan.

After graduation, the family will take a much-needed cruise, and Ethan is returning to Spain before starting a job at J.P. Morgan in New York City, where he will trade scenic Kingstown Road for the skyscrapers of Madison Avenue. J.P. Morgan is Ethan’s dream company. He interned with them in Boston last summer and will join them full-time at their headquarters in July.

“J.P. Morgan was always the company that I admired,” he said. “As sad as I am to leave URI, I think there is an exciting, next step waiting.”

And though his family will always be close, and his younger sister is an athlete, the one thing he can say is that he took home the top prize when it came to grade-point average.

“I have a 3.96, although my brother and sister are not far behind.” said Ethan, a recipient of the Joel Dirlam Memorial Research Award.

Recently both Ethan and Alex also received the Spanish Studies Excellence Award, along with two other students.

Asked how they’re going to make five individual commencement ceremonies work, he just said it’s going to be a big weekend. 

“We have Arts and Sciences graduation, and then our College of Business and Engineering. So that’s three ceremonies, then my sister has a ceremony,” explained Ethan. “My mom has a ceremony, so it’ll be five ceremonies over three days. It’s going to be a great weekend of celebrations. We are all proud of each other and proud to be a URI legacy family.”