Grandmother and granddaughter graduate university together with honours

'I hope I am an inspiration to the young as well as the old' the grandmother said after receiving her diploma

A grandmother and her granddaughter both graduated from Chicago State University - together.

Belinda Berry, 62, and Karea Berry, 25, walked across the stage at a commencement ceremony to accept their bachelor’s degrees in business and criminal justice, respectively.

Chicago State University interim President Dr Rachel Lindsey said: "It's a wonderful story. And it speaks to what Chicago State does best. And that [it responds] to students who are just leaving high school as well as students who want to come back and earn a degree.”

The pair has been a tight-knit family since Ms Berry began raising her granddaughter in Chicago since the young graduate was just two years old.

"I feel very proud of my granddaughter because my granddaughter excelled,” the elder Ms Berry told a local news station.

Her granddaughter said they "didn't know we were going to finish together because I was fulltime and she was part time. And it actually just worked out that way. I just say it was God's will.”

The younger Ms Berry has a four-year-old daughter and worked as a security while attending classes. Her grandmother worked in hospital administration for several years but has plans to open her own business.

"I am very honoured to be a role model. And I hope I am an inspiration to the young as well as the old, because it's never too late to pursue an education,” the older Ms Berry noted.

The pair not only graduated, but both did so magna cum laude.

They called it “friendly competition.” The older Ms Berry had the slight advantage with a 3.8 GPA to her granddaughter’s 3.4.

Both women plan on pursuing graduate degrees next - a sign of what the 25-year-old Ms Berry said she was taught as a child: "That education is the key to success. That's her motto of life. She just always said you have to persevere through all of your challenges and you will receive what you need to receive. And that's what's happening to us today.”