Gradcast lets parents watch kids graduate

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Britney Hiatt | Sgt. 1st Class Esther Elliott, an intelligence planner with operations and stationed out of Fort Hood, Texas, celebrates from Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, as Elizabeth, her daughter, walks across the stage and receives her high school diploma during the Shoemaker High School graduation in Killeen, Texas, June 5. The video telecast gives deployed parents the opportunity to talk with their child before they graduate and watch them walk to receive their high school diploma.  

CAMP VICTORY, IRAQ

06.13.2010

Story by Spc. Britney Hiatt 

103rd Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - A mother sits with her hands folded in front of her in anticipation. In the seat next to her, a father rocks back and forth nervously. Their children are about to graduate high school.

As the graduates cross the stage, the mother cheers for her son. The father’s smile covers his face as his daughter receives her diploma. Unlike many parents at the Shoemaker High School Graduation in Texas, these parents, along with five others, are half a world away at Camp Victory, Iraq.

Parents deployed from Fort Hood, Texas, got the chance to watch their children graduate during live telecasts that took place from June 4 to June 7.

Gradcast is a joint venue between the area high schools and Fort Hood that allows deployed Soldiers the opportunity to see their children graduate live via a video telecast, said Capt. Stephanie Royal, organizer for Camp Victory’s Gradcast.

Royal said seven high schools in the Killeen area participated in the VTC's so parents could see their children and the students were able to see their parent’s reactions on the megatron as they walked across the stage at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas, where the graduations were held.

A total of 35 parents on Camp Victory participated in this year’s Gradcast.

Sergeant 1st Class Lloyd Smith, a supply sergeant with United States Forces-Iraq and based out of Fort Hood, watched his daughter, Brenna, as she graduated with honors from Ellison High School, June 6, an opportunity he thought he’d lost when deployment orders came.

“When I received word I was deploying it was an emotional event,” he said. “One of the first things that came up was that I wasn’t going to be able to see her graduation.”

Gradcast also turned out to be extremely important for Brenna, Smith said.

“When I found out about the VTC and started corresponding with my daughter we both got excited about it,” said Smith.

To celebrate, Smith invited 15 of his closest friends and coworkers for a small party during the VTC with his family. As the only parent on Camp Victory with a child graduating from Ellison, the VTC was held at his office.

For Spc. Thomas Waldrop, a mail clerk for III Corps, Special Troop Battalion also out of Fort Hood, this graduation was a chance for him to see his son rewarded for the extra work he had put in during his final year. His son had to switch high schools and would not have had enough electives to graduate, but worked hard enough to complete them.

Waldrop said it was exciting to see everything his son had accomplished come to this point.

“You’re so many miles away,” said Waldrop. “It’s great to have the VTC to share these moments with their children.”

Waldrop’s son, Timothy Bowler, graduated June 5, from Killeen High School.

Deployed parents also got the chance to speak with their children during individual family conferences.

“That’s my favorite part,” said Royal. “You get to see the family come into the room and sit on the sofa and watch mom or dad say to their child, ‘I’m proud of you.’ It can get very emotional.”

Smith said the one-on-one live feed was extremely special since many friends joined him for the small party to give their congratulations to his daughter.

“I think it’s neat with this program because it’s possible for parents to see their kids and at least have a little bit of time to see one of the beginning milestones of each child’s life,” said Sgt. 1st Class Stanley Tolbert, a J4 logistic technician and close friends to the Smith family.

“You don’t get that time back,” Smith said, “In the past, I missed her first words, first steps, all that good stuff. When I got back from a deployment, she had already done most of her firsts.

“Opportunities like this bring you back to the family network and all the events that the family will talk about, and you can share those memories.”

• Date Taken: 06.13.2010
• Date Posted: 06.13.2010 09:24
• Story ID: 51320
• Location: CAMP VICTORY, IQ