Constable: Mom and son take the same college class - and team up on projects
In their twice-weekly mass communications class at the College of DuPage, Caleb always sits next to Tiffany.
"They're both super students," says professor Sandy Fries. The relationship between Caleb and Tiffany is something Fries says he has never seen in a classroom in his more than 16 years of teaching. Not only did they do a great job working together on a recent team presentation, but "it's cool to see a mom and son like each other," Fries says.
"One of the young men in our group nearly fell out of his chair when he found out we were a mom and son," says Tiffany Berry, 38, as 18-year-old Caleb Berry nods in agreement. Tiffany has lived in Naperville or Aurora since she was 13 years old and is in the process of taking the last name of her new husband, Justin Corbalis. She briefly went to the College of DuPage when she was Caleb's age. But the demands of her job and taking care of kids at home forced her to quit.
Caleb, a 2019 graduate of Metea Valley High School, was looking through the course options at COD and told his mom that he wanted to take the mass communications class.
"She says, 'That sounds like a cool class,'" remembers Caleb.
"I'll take it, too," Tiffany told him, bracing herself for a less than enthusiastic response from a son going to college with his mom.
"You're so 'cringy.' That's the new saying," Tiffany says.
"It's not a new saying," Caleb says, acknowledging that he and his three siblings have had a few cringy, eye-rolling moments common among kids whose moms get involved in their lives.
"We didn't discuss how we were going to do it. I was just going to act cool," Tiffany says, adding that she planned to sit far away from Caleb.
But it was not a cringy moment for Caleb, who made her feel comfortable on their first day of class.
"When he pulled out a chair for me, that made my year," Tiffany says.
"At this point, some of that stuff doesn't matter," Caleb says. "I'm pretty well off with a resource like my mom in here. It's really fun."
They drive to school together from their home in Aurora, where they live with Tiffany's husband, and her other children Elias, 17, and Avalia, 10. Her oldest son, Gabriel, 22, is a U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Caleb says he appreciates the experience Tiffany brings to class. Tiffany does marketing for businesses including popular restaurants such as Fire + Wine in Glen Ellyn, and VAI's in Naperville. She is a busy mom and a two-time survivor of ovarian and kidney cancer.
"At first, I was nervous as the old person in class, but then it dawned on me that I'll never be old," Tiffany says, predicting her personality will provide a few cringy moments in the future as a grandmother and feisty old lady.
For some college kids, having a mom in their class could cut into their campus fun. Caleb, who decided at age 10 that he'd avoid drugs and alcohol, says his mom is anything but a wet blanket on his social life. "If anything, she'll help," he says, noting his mom is more outgoing.
"He's thoughtful. He is not a typical 18-year-old," Tiffany says. "I think people are confused by me."
They admit to having a little rivalry in the classroom.
"There is a mixture of annoyance and appreciation," Tiffany says.
"We have separate opinions," Caleb says, adding that they worked well together on the last class project. "I did my work. She designed the presentation."
Caleb has taken classes in architecture, medicine and journalism. "I'm finding out what I want to do," he says.
"I want to be in research," says Tiffany, who dreams of getting a doctoral degree in neuropsychology and studying the link between the brain and behavior.
Working together in the same class has made them appreciate each other more, the mother and son agree.
"She's quite the researcher. I don't know what I would have gotten on my presentation without you," Caleb says to Tiffany.
"It's nice to talk about topics together. It brings natural conversation into our family life," Tiffany says of Caleb. "Two of my favorite days of the week are coming here with him."