{"id":315409,"date":"2024-10-30T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=315409"},"modified":"2024-11-01T02:05:42","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T02:05:42","slug":"fort-cavazos-graduation-ceremony-celebrates-cap-tivating-successes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=315409","title":{"rendered":"Fort Cavazos graduation ceremony celebrates cap-tivating successes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Joel Robinson, who received an Associates of Arts in business administration and management, opens his gown as he crosses the stage, revealing photos of his mom, during the 27th Annual Consolidated Graduate Recognition Ceremony Oct. 24, 2024, at Howze Auditorium at Fort Cavazos, Texas.
\n (Photo Credit: Photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)<\/span>
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\n Graduates turn to face the audience before moving their tassels during the 27th Annual Consolidated Graduate Recognition Ceremony Oct. 24, 2024, at Howze Auditorium at Fort Cavazos, Texas.
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\n Capt. Serena Taylor, 48th Chemical Brigade, smiles as she delivers the student address during the 27th Annual Consolidated Graduate Recognition Ceremony Oct. 24, 2024, at Howze Auditorium at Fort Cavazos, Texas.
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas \u2014<\/strong> More than 80 graduates walked the stage in their caps and gowns and accepted their diplomas during the 27th Annual Consolidated Graduate Recognition Ceremony Oct. 24 at Howze Auditorium at Fort Cavazos.<\/p>\n

The ceremony allows Soldiers and family members who may not be able to attend the graduation ceremony at the school they received their diploma from an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishment surrounded by their friends, family and peers. Collectively, the graduates received their degrees from over 20 colleges across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe congratulate (the graduates) for their achievements, recognize their hard work and the years it took to complete their goal,\u201d said Sheri\u2019 Buono, education services officer, Fort Cavazos Education Center.<\/p>\n

Col. Lakicia Stokes, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos commander, served as the commencement speaker during the ceremony, and she took the opportunity to praise them for their efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we gather to celebrate a momentous milestone in your lives,\u201d she said. \u201cGraduation is not just a ceremony; it\u2019s a powerful acknowledgment of your hard work, perseverance and commitment to your dreams. It is also a day of celebration and pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake a moment to reflect on the journey that has brought you to this day,\u201d she continued. \u201cEach of you has faced challenges \u2014 late nights of studying and, perhaps, moments of doubt, but you persevered. For that, you should be incredibly proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capt. Serena Taylor, 48th Chemical Brigade, who is receiving a Master of Arts in clinical mental health counseling, delivered the student address. She shared her 10-year story in earning her degree, hoping to encourage others to pursue their education.<\/p>\n

\u201cReceiving this degree has been surreal,\u201d she said during her speech. \u201cI have watched so many others complete their degrees \u2018on time,\u2019 and often felt like a failure because I wasn\u2019t able to do the same. I was reminded by my amazing support system that I was right where I needed to be and what was for me was for me. That is what kept me going on this journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome advice I would give to my peers, but, more importantly, to the junior Soldiers who asked, \u2018Ma\u2019am is it doable?\u2019 I would say to them, \u2018It will not be easy. At times, you may want to quit. Your leadership may not support it. There will never be enough hours in a day. There will always be another priority, but all of that will be a distant memory when you\u2019re standing in your cap and gown receiving a degree that no one will ever be able to take away from you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sgt. 1st Class Johnny Vargas, 1st Battalion, 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, graduating from the University of Maryland Global Campus with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, participated in the ceremony and expressed his gratitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ceremony means a whole lot more to me than I thought it would originally, seeing the joy on everyone\u2019s faces and sharing the accomplishment that everyone got to be involved in today,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m super appreciative of Fort Cavazos and the education center because I didn\u2019t get to go to either of my graduations, and that\u2019s the case for many Soldiers and family members. Either they\u2019re deployed, they\u2019re in the field, they\u2019re training, they\u2019re too busy or they just can\u2019t afford to go from state to state to different colleges. So, I\u2019m cherishing today.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of the event, Buono said it is rewarding to be a part of.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about us,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the smiles. It\u2019s about the hugs. It\u2019s about the congratulations. It\u2019s just so heartwarming \u2014 the little kids in the audience saying, \u2018I love you, daddy.\u2019 You just can\u2019t beat that. My heart is full.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Joel Robinson, who received an Associates of Arts in business administration and management, opens his gown as he crosses the stage, revealing photos of his mom, during the 27th Annual Consolidated Graduate Recognition Ceremony Oct. 24, 2024, at Howze Auditorium at Fort Cavazos, Texas. (Photo Credit: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315411,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-315409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=315409"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315415,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315409\/revisions\/315415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/315411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=315409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=315409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=315409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}