College Student Takes Graduation Photos in Farmer Fields Where Her Parents Work to Honor Them

Branden Rodriguez/@branden.shoots Jennifer Rocha and her parents

A recent college graduate is paying tribute to her roots - and the hard work of her Mexican immigrant parents - with a viral graduation photo shoot in the farmer's fields in which she once worked.

Jennifer Rocha recently earned her bachelor's degree from the University of California, San Diego, and returned to the fields her family works in to take photos in her cap and gown.

"I wanted to go back to the field because that's what molded me as a person and that's what gave me the reason to pursue a higher education," Rocha, 21, told the Today show. "My dad's lesson to the three of his girls was, 'Hey, if you don't pursue higher education, this is where you're going to end up your whole life.'"

Rocha's parents, Jose Juan and Angelica Maria, immigrated to Coachella, California from Michoacán, Mexico, and have been field workers since they were children, their daughter told the outlet.

Branden Rodriguez/@branden.shoots Jennifer Rocha

Rocha began joining them in the fields in high school, staying up until 2 or 3 a.m. planting strawberries overnight, then waking up at 5 a.m. to get to class on time, she wrote in a Facebook post shared by UC San Diego.

"During my winter break or summer break, I was working with my parents," she told ABC affiliate KGTV. "That's what made me want to go back and recognize my parents, because without them, I wouldn't have the degree."

Branden Rodriguez/@branden.shoots Jennifer Rocha

Rocha kept up the hard work in college, too, working at the university's police department while balancing schoolwork in order to help pay for tuition, she told Good Morning America.

At times, her shifts wouldn't end until 4 or 5 a.m., and she'd have to be ready for class by 8 a.m., so she'd squeeze in a quick nap in her car, she said. She also commuted all four years from her sister's apartment to save money.

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Branden Rodriguez/@branden.shoots Jennifer Rocha and her parents

"It was tough times, but I mean, we got that diploma," she told GMA.

With a degree in sociology under her belt, Rocha hopes to pursue a career in law enforcement, where her goal is to increase Latino representation in the field, she told GMA.

"If it wasn't for how my parents raised me I don't know who I would be today," Rocha wrote in the Facebook post. "Coming from a field worker background has motivated me to work hard, as my parents took my sisters and I to the fields in order to understand how difficult labor is."