Jennifer Gates Thanks ‘Village Around Me’ in Graduation Post with Parents Bill & Melinda French Gates
The master’s degree is now Jennifer Gates’s!
The 27-year-old daughter of Bill and Melinda French Gates earned a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University.Jennifer, who welcomed her first baby in April, shared a photo of herself on Instagram in her cap and gown smiling with her parents and husband Nayel Nassar.”(Accelerated) Master of Public Health 👩🎓🩵,” the graduate wrote. “Thank you @columbiapublichealth for this incredible educational opportunity and the village around me who made this possible. Grateful 🙏✨.”
Jennifer then explained what an accelerated master’s degree was in parentheses: “Transparency— accelerated students officially get our degrees conferred in October when practicum deliverables are due, but all coursework is completed and we walk in the ceremony and celebrate now.”
Her husband Nayel Nassar reposted the photo on his Instagram Story, writing, “So proud!” On her Instagram Story, Jennifer reposted a photo of her walking to receive her diploma, which was shared on the official Instagram account of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
She also shared a photo of her onstage accepting an award. “Honored to receive the Excellence in General Public Health award alongside amazing colleagues and mentors,” she wrote.Bill and Melinda’s divorce was finalized in August of 2021 after 27 years of marriage. Last year, she told Fortune magazine that the split was “unbelievably painful.”
In addition to Jennifer, the parents share Rory, 23, and Phoebe, 20.
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The kids were among Melinda’s top priorities during the divorce, she told the magazine.”My main concern, of course, was trying to protect my kids through it,” she told Fortune. “And we got to the other side.”
Last month, the parents celebrated Jennifer’s 27th birthday with their own respective Instagram posts. “Happy birthday, Jenn! You continue to amaze me with your intelligence, creativity, and compassion,” Bill, 67, wrote alongside a sweet photo of the two smiling. “I feel incredibly lucky to be your dad, and I’m so proud of everything you’ve accomplished. Love you always!” “Happy birthday, Jenn! It’s hard to believe you’re already 27,” Melinda, 58, began her caption. “Watching you grow into the amazing woman you are today—and become a mother to your own daughter—has been one of the greatest joys of my life.”
