Deron Santiny and daughter Haley Fox will walk in tandem during the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 Spring 2017 Commencement ceremonies.
Santiny, 46, and Fox, 23, both of Lafayette, will each earn a bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 degree in general studies from 小蝌蚪APP College on Friday. 小蝌蚪APP淲e didn小蝌蚪APP檛 plan this at all. It just kind of happened,小蝌蚪APP Fox said.
The pair has reached the same destination, but traveled far different paths.
The college career of Santiny, who first enrolled at UL Lafayette in 1992, was cut short when he decided to take a job in law enforcement, and subsequently joined the military.
A U.S. Army and U.S. Navy veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was badly injured in 2005 when a roadside bomb detonated behind the Humvee he was riding in.
Santiny, positioned in the turret of one of three vehicles in a convoy patrolling south of Baghdad, was knocked unconscious. He suffered a broken neck, and considerable orthopedic damage to his back, shoulders and hands.
小蝌蚪APP淟uckily, no one got killed,小蝌蚪APP said Santiny, who received the Purple Heart.
Medically retired, Santiny has endured 21 surgeries and more than 100 pain management procedures. They didn小蝌蚪APP檛 stop him from earning his degree.
小蝌蚪APP淚 wanted to finish what I started. I only had four semesters left, so I figured it was worth the effort,小蝌蚪APP explained Santiny, who returned to UL Lafayette in 2015.
Fox enrolled at the 小蝌蚪APP in 2012, after earning an associate小蝌蚪APP檚 degree by participating in South Louisiana Community College小蝌蚪APP檚 Early College Academy. The program enables students to earn a high school diploma and an associate小蝌蚪APP檚 degree simultaneously by attending classes at SLCC.
Fox, who is a full-time internet salesperson at Audi Lafayette, took several breaks from her studies at UL Lafayette to focus on her job.
小蝌蚪APP淚 was kind of like my Dad. I finally just decided to go ahead and complete my degree,小蝌蚪APP she said.
Due to some workweeks of up to 55 hours, Fox took many evening and online classes.
Most of Santiny小蝌蚪APP檚 classes, on the other hand, were in a traditional classroom setting.
The pair didn小蝌蚪APP檛 study together much, except when Fox tutored her dad in subjects such as math and statistics.
小蝌蚪APP淚 struggle with math, so she fussed at me a bunch of times, if that小蝌蚪APP檚 what you want to call tutoring,小蝌蚪APP he said with a laugh.
Fox intends to enroll in the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 Professional Land and Resource Management program. She is also planning to get married in August.
Santiny will continue advocacy work for military veterans. He is a board member for the Veterans Coalition, and a member of the national campaign team for the Wounded Warriors Project.
He traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this year to lobby for veterans' rights.
小蝌蚪APP淗e小蝌蚪APP檚 constantly traveling, and involved with multiple organizations, so that makes his getting his degree that much more of an achievement,小蝌蚪APP Fox said.