Kamala Harris has shared a heartfelt message congratulating her stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, who graduated from the Parsons School of Design this week.
The Vice President posted her sweet note to Instagram on Saturday accompanied by a photo that showed her smiling alongside the 22-year-old college grad.
‘Congratulations to our daughter Ella on her graduation. I am so proud of you. Keep dreaming with ambition and there is nothing you cannot achieve,’ Harris wrote.
She signed off the note with the words ‘Love, Momala’ – the affectionate name that Ella and her older brother, Cole, call their stepmom.
Ella and Cole, 26, are the children of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and his first wife, Kerstin.
They have been Harris’ step-children since 2014 when she tied the knot with Doug in Santa Barbara.
Kamala Harris has shared a heartfelt message congratulating her stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, who graduated from the Parsons School of Design this week
Earlier this week, Doug also took to Instagram to share a snap congratulating Ella after she attained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Parsons – a prestigious design school located in New York City.
The photo showed Ella clad in a traditional cap and gown as her attorney dad beamed alongside her.
‘My darling Ella, we are such proud parents!’ he captioned.
‘We love you so much, and are very much looking forward to all you do in the future. And, to the other Class of 2021 graduates out there, huge congratulations!’
Past Parsons graduates include Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Anna Sui, Narciso Rodriguez, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Isaac Mizrahi, Derek Lam, Prabal Gurung, and Jenna Lyons.
Ella is preparing to launch a career as a designer, having already made her mark on the fashion world with her own knitwear designs and a modeling contract with IMG Models.
Doug also took to Instagram to share a snap congratulating Ella after she attained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Parsons – a prestigious design school located in New York City
Ella and Cole (right) are the children of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and his first wife, Kerstin. They have been Harris’ step-children since 2014 when she tied the knot with Doug in Santa Barbara. The blended family are pictured together in a recent photo
The Vice President often boasts about the close relationship she has with her stepdaughter, who affectionately calls her ‘Momala’
Ella completed the past year of her degree virtually and ,in student profile on Parsons’ website, she opened up about what it was like to complete college remotely.
She wrote that she had spent the year studying in an apartment she shares with roommates, and preferred to dress in athleisure for her Zoom classes.
She listed her favorite streaming service as Hulu, her go-to pandemic snack as hummus, and her favorite social media app as ‘none.’
Though she didn’t share exactly what her post graduation plans are, she wrote that she is most excited to start her career.’
Meanwhile, on Instagram, Ella said that she spent her last year of school ‘creating a collection of knitwear/crochet pieces in response to my adolescent diary and childhood photographs using excess yarn from the pants I was making.’
‘I will be expanding this collection during the summer with more vests, pants, headpieces, and hopefully sweaters (when I master the art of the sleeve),’ she said.
Pandemic school: Ella wrote that she spent the year studying in an apartment she shares with roommates and preferred to dress in athleisure for her Zoom classes
On Instagram, she said that she spent her last year of school ‘creating a collection of knitwear/crochet pieces in response to my adolescent diary and childhood photographs using excess yarn from the pants I was making’
Fans who have followed Ella on Instagram are familiar with her sense of style, as well as the knitwear she sells online.
‘I think the goal is definitely to have my own knitwear brand, label, whatever you call it,’ she told Garage.
‘Setting up a shop, most likely online of where I can just have a bunch of different pieces that I’m constantly creating and doing my commission-based work and having that all be in a shop.
‘I’d like to try and stay a one-woman show, but I think as stuff has started ramping up with my knitwear, it’s been harder. I’m only one woman, I can only make so many commissions while I’m also trying to just enjoy life.’
Big moment: Ella has certainly been enjoying her newfound status as a fashion favorite since taking the Inauguration by storm
In addition to designing clothes, Ella has also made money modelling them.
She signed with IMG Models earlier this year after she turned heads attending Harris’ Inauguration in Washington DC.
‘It’s not really about shape, size or gender any more,’ said Ivan Bart, the president of IMG Models.
‘Ella communicates this moment in time. There’s a cheekiness and a joy she exudes.’
He said his response to seeing her at the inauguration was: ‘Wow, she’s communicating fashion.’
Ella said the approach from Bart took her back, even though she had been dabbling in modeling for a smaller agent.
‘I was pretty surprised when everything with IMG was happening because when I was younger, I never saw that as being part of my timeline,’ she told The New York Times.
‘As someone who, like a lot of young girls out there, had self-confidence issues, it is intimidating and scary to go into this world that is hyper-focused on you and the body.’
On her way! Soon after the Inauguration, it was announced that she had signed with IMG Models
Voila! In February, she appeared in her first designer fashion show, just three weeks after it was announced that she had signed with IMG Models
Model moment: She stormed the runway for Proenza Schouler in three different stylish looks