Deron Santiny and daughter Haley Fox will walk in tandem during the University of 棉花糖直播 at Lafayette鈥檚 Spring 2017 Commencement ceremonies.
Santiny, 46, and Fox, 23, both of Lafayette, will each earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in general studies from University College on Friday. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 plan this at all. It just kind of happened,鈥 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.
鈥淟uckily, no one got killed,鈥 said Santiny, who received the Purple Heart.
Medically retired, Santiny has endured 21 surgeries and more than 100 pain management procedures. They didn鈥檛 stop him from earning his degree.
鈥淚 wanted to finish what I started. I only had four semesters left, so I figured it was worth the effort,鈥 explained Santiny, who returned to UL Lafayette in 2015.
Fox enrolled at the University in 2012, after earning an associate鈥檚 degree by participating in South 棉花糖直播 Community College鈥檚 Early College Academy. The program enables students to earn a high school diploma and an associate鈥檚 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.
鈥淚 was kind of like my Dad. I finally just decided to go ahead and complete my degree,鈥 she said.
Due to some workweeks of up to 55 hours, Fox took many evening and online classes.
Most of Santiny鈥檚 classes, on the other hand, were in a traditional classroom setting.
The pair didn鈥檛 study together much, except when Fox tutored her dad in subjects such as math and statistics.
鈥淚 struggle with math, so she fussed at me a bunch of times, if that鈥檚 what you want to call tutoring,鈥 he said with a laugh.
Fox intends to enroll in the University鈥檚 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.
鈥淗e鈥檚 constantly traveling, and involved with multiple organizations, so that makes his getting his degree that much more of an achievement,鈥 Fox said.