Photo: KTNV
A commencement ceremony turned into an emotional reunion for a UNLV graduate and her military father.
During Friday's graduation, Pamela Hernandez received the surprise of a lifetime when she was reunited with her father after almost a year apart.
As Pamela's name was called and she walked across the stage to receive her diploma, an announcement was made: 'Everybody, we have a very special surprise. Pamela is being greeted by her father, a US Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class, who has made the trip from overseas to see his daughter graduate.' A video was captured during the heartwarming moment.
Douglas Hernandez has been deployed in the Middle East since July, but he knew he couldn't miss the opportunity to witness his daughter graduate with a Master's degree. He traveled more than 30 hours, and even kept it a secret from the whole family.
Assistant dean for graduate student services Valarie Burke said she received an email from Douglas saying, "I have a daughter that's going to be graduating in May and I'm overseas and I wanted to know if there was a way that I could surprise her." They got to planning, and were able to pull off the heartfelt surprise.
"I couldn't believe it," Pamela said. "I'm just happy to be here. I'm happy to have my dad here and I'm happy to start a new chapter in life."