SAN ANTONIO — Christmas isn’t the only reason families come together for December celebrations; it’s a time to honor new graduates as well.
On Saturday, not only did one UIW student receive her degree in what became a very special ceremony, but her husband was waiting for her after returning from a 13-month deployment as part of the U.S. Air Force.
For Heather McNeil, seeing her husband triggered a number of emotions.
“It felt unreal,” she said later.
No one in the family knew of Nathan’s arrival, which – according to McNeil – must have been a tough task.
“Because he’s horrible at keeping surprises, so this was quite a feat,” she said.
Nathan acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining the surprise.
“This was pretty hard to keep this one from her,” he said. “She’s pretty good at catching stuff.”
Now it’s time for them to catch up, 386 days after he left.