Throughout the first two weeks of March 2024, the streets of Valletta have sustained the buoyant click-clacks of close to 1,500 PhD and Master’s graduands.
Two of those who proudly marched to the Basilica of Our Lady of Safe Haven and St Dominic in Merchants Street were father and son, Philip Mifsud and André Mifsud Kingswell, who had the honour of graduating together for a second time!
Two years ago, they had graduated together with a Bachelor of Laws.
This time, they crossed the finish line together once again, with both having obtained a Master’s in Advocacy.
Despite their 28-year age gap, having completely different ways of doing things, and frequenting different friends, they managed to attend the same lectures and study together peacefully and without any major distractions, especially towards exam period – when they both felt the need to consult each other more frequently.
“We would get on each other’s nerves, but we have both been blessed with patience, maybe more him with me, but we’ve always managed, and they were five of the most rewarding years of my life,” said André, with his right hand clutching his left arm the exact same way his father was.
“That was one of the matters we took into consideration at the initial stages of this journey – I was concerned I would become a burden, and student life is what it is, but we discussed it thoroughly and he told me he was comfortable with the situation”, reverted Philip.
Both admitted their bond grew stronger throughout this journey, which also taught them to see eye to eye on more matters.
The pace at which they study was not one of them, it seems.
“I start early, I pick up a rhythm and keep that up, whereas André starts slowly, and picks up the pace towards the end. We do study together, especially as exams approach, but even in the togetherness, we have our own quirks,” said Philip.
“We love challenging each other, and we’re quite competitive, that’s for sure!”
Was this enough to perhaps lead them to open a law practice together? Not quite. Since Philip is already a well-established architect, and André is just finding his ground in the working world, their career paths are divergent. But they have both shown a keen interest in civil law.
Philip encourages those who would love to start studying, or perhaps have put that on the back burner for a while and are considering resuming as it’s never too late to learn.
“At first, you will see a steep mountain to climb, and doubts might start creeping in, but the satisfaction of graduating and crossing the finish line far outweighs that,” he concluded.
