{"id":416385,"date":"2025-04-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=416385"},"modified":"2025-04-17T17:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:39:09","slug":"garrison-ceremony-highlights-academic-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=416385","title":{"rendered":"Garrison ceremony highlights academic excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Brig. Gen. Daniel Cederman, Deputy Commanding General, Southern European Task Force Africa, congratulates graduates during the April 17 ceremony at U.S. Army Garrison Italy.
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VICENZA, Italy \u2013 The graduation song Pomp & Circumstance filled Caserma Ederle\u2019s Golden Lion conference center as 19 black-gowned college students filed in.<\/p>\n

More than one graduate was wearing Army boots.<\/p>\n

U.S. Army Garrison Italy hosted the April 17 ceremony to honor the academic achievement of community members who earned associates, bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees. Dozens of friends and family members smile, cheered and took photos. The ceremony represented a lot of hard work, long hours and determination for those being recognized.<\/p>\n

When Darius Hale, 28, left Franklin County, Virginia, to join the Army 10 years ago, crossing a stage with a degree was not on his mind. A chaplain\u2019s assistant with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Hale assists with religious affairs and jumps out of planes. This keeps him busy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a really tough duty assignment, but with that challenge, I\u2019ve also grown a lot,\u201d Hale said.<\/p>\n

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\n Brig. Gen. Daniel Cederman, Deputy Commanding General, Southern European Task Force Africa congratulates Darius Hale, a chaplains assistant, on the completion of his bachelor’s degree.
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Hale and his wife have two sons, ages four and eight. He volunteers, coaching youth football, track, soccer and basketball. Challenging job, husband and father and community volunteer \u2013 how does his fit in academics? His wife, who earned her master\u2019s degree, inspired Hale to hit the books, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s really pushing me towards my education,\u201d Hale said. \u201cThat\u2019s really my strong drive behind why I am now getting my bachelor\u2019s and then soon to be hopefully getting my masters.\u201d<\/p>\n

He found time during his busy days to study. Sometimes it was when the kids were at school, daycare or at night when they\u2019re asleep.<\/p>\n

Hale\u2019s earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in business and wants to now pursue his MBA. He\u2019s thinking long term, so after he retires from the military, he might open his own business. With tuition assistance and other benefits, Soldiers can practically get their education for free, plus gain valuable certifications that last a lifetime, Hale tells fellow service members.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just a no-brainer,\u201d Hale said. \u201cIt\u2019s just one of the best things you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Jeremy Cates, a community member known for his performances in Soldiers Theatre productions, sang both the Italian and American anthems.
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During the ceremony, Jeremy Cates, a community member known for his performances in Soldiers Theatre productions, sang both the Italian and American anthems. Lt. Col. Robert Elkowitz, the garrison chaplain, offered a prayer.<\/p>\n

The keynote speaker, Brig. Gen. Daniel Cederman, Deputy Commanding General, Southern European Task Force Africa, told the graduates that he began his academic career studying computer science at a community college. He spoke of the relevance of education. Plans and goals change, but pursuing education prepared him for unexpected opportunities, he said. Cederman encouraged graduates to also pursue personal goals, hobbies and interests that compliment education.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways have something to aim for,\u201d Cederman said. \u201cYour goal may change, it\u2019s going to shift. If you always moving toward something it will drive the one, three and five-year plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Graduates at the April 17 U.S. Army Garrison Italy. ceremony move their tassels to the left side, a time-honored tradition.
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For one veteran April Bravo, 47, earning her associates degree is a step toward more college, she said. She spent 22 years in uniform and achieved the rank of master sergeant. Now a civilian pay technician at finance office, Bravo is focusing on her education.<\/p>\n

While in uniform, she\u2019d took classes and earned many course credits but never got her degree. Now she\u2019s already looking toward her bachelors, speaking to her school advisor the day before the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was my opportunity to put all those pieces of the puzzle together,\u201d Bravo said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that I\u2019ve always wanted to accomplish and there was that nagging voice in the back of my head to finish it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Family members and friends celebrate the graduation of their loves ones at U.S. Army Garrison Italy’s graduation ceremony
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When you see dark-tan Army boots sticking out from under a black gown, it\u2019s a reminder that this is not an average college graduation. Most of the Soldiers and family members earned their degrees while juggling Army life overseas, families and other commitments. When Bravo looked upon her fellow graduates, enjoying refreshments with family and friends after the ceremony, she saw camaraderie, pride and accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very commendable for them,\u201d Bravo said. \u201cIt\u2019s huge success.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brig. Gen. Daniel Cederman, Deputy Commanding General, Southern European Task Force Africa, congratulates graduates during the April 17 ceremony at U.S. Army Garrison Italy. (Photo Credit: Rick Scavetta, U.S. Army Garrison Italy.) VIEW ORIGINAL VICENZA, Italy \u2013 The graduation song Pomp & Circumstance filled Caserma Ederle\u2019s Golden Lion conference center as 19 black-gowned college students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416387,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-416385","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\/416385","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=416385"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":416393,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416385\/revisions\/416393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/416387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=416385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=416385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=416385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}