{"id":4324,"date":"2022-10-28T20:02:13","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T20:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=4324"},"modified":"2025-02-13T11:23:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T16:23:59","slug":"a-graduate-a-father-and-a-sister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2022\/10\/28\/a-graduate-a-father-and-a-sister\/","title":{"rendered":"A Graduate, A Father and a Sister"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column4324_eca2ed-51 dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.kb-image4324_e32cec-00 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image4324_e32cec-00\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MAIN-Final-Words-_photos_v2_custom_toned_light_ai-web-1-360x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-15362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MAIN-Final-Words-_photos_v2_custom_toned_light_ai-web-1-360x480.jpg 360w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MAIN-Final-Words-_photos_v2_custom_toned_light_ai-web-1-188x250.jpg 188w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MAIN-Final-Words-_photos_v2_custom_toned_light_ai-web-1.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-commitment-to-lifelong-learning-inspires-a-poignant-moment-for-a-proud-military-family\"><em>A commitment to&nbsp;<strong>lifelong learning<\/strong>&nbsp;inspires a poignant moment for a proud military family<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When&nbsp;<strong>Gunnery Sgt.&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>Steven Christian<\/strong>&nbsp;enrolled at Wilmington University to earn a Master of Science degree in Cybersecurity with a concentration in Supervisory Controls and Data Acquisition (SCADA), he did so partly for his father and partly for himself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His father, Petty Officer First Class&nbsp;Lowell Seymour Christian, was his&nbsp;hero. \u201cHe was an avid reader, intellectually gifted, and an expert in his field,\u201d Steven says. \u201cHe always taught me the importance of education. So, I wanted to make him proud and somehow match his level of intellect. And he loved Wilmington University.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After 20 years of active-duty service, Lowell had retired and enrolled at WilmU to study finance for his bachelor\u2019s degree. \u201cMy father had every intention to immediately enroll in a master\u2019s program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he never got the chance. Lowell suffered a fatal heart attack before he could enroll in his graduate program. Steven was studying at Tuskegee University at the time. \u201cWhen my dad died in 2005, I was 18. My first official act as an adult was to bury him.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He withdrew from Tuskegee and joined the Marine Corps \u201cto continue the lineage,\u201d he says. Throughout multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Steven chipped away at his education, enrolling in nine universities and colleges, and taking courses non-stop. \u201cWhen you\u2019re on active duty,\u201d he says, \u201cyou\u2019re challenged with scheduling and finding a college that understands your situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>[My father] always taught me the importance of education. So, I wanted to make him proud and somehow match his level of intellect. And he loved Wilmington University.\u201d \u2014 Steven Christian<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Then he remembered his father\u2019s alma mater. \u201cI was able to study 100% online at WilmU,\u201d says Steven, who is stationed in Texas and working in cybersecurity. \u201cI had attended enough schools to know that I wanted to be academically challenged by an institution that was respected. In terms of the SCADA concentration, I have not seen a better program anywhere else \u2014 and I did my research. The professors genuinely cared and provided really cathartic feedback \u2014 every one of them. I never felt that anywhere but at WilmU.\u201d (For the non-tech folks among us, SCADA is largely about critical infrastructure. \u201cICS and SCADA provide systems controls for dams, oil and gas systems, electrical grids and water systems,\u201d says&nbsp;James Fraley, chair of WilmU\u2019s Master\u2019s Cybersecurity program. \u201cThis also includes things like the control systems for nuclear power plants, utilities, power distribution and systems.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steven was set to graduate in May of 2022, but something was missing. During his time at WilmU, he started thinking about the many courses Lowell had taken and hoped it might be possible for his father to receive his degree posthumously. He wondered if both their degrees could be awarded on the same day \u2014 at the same ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not surprisingly, a team of caring WilmU colleagues made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image4324_cb5d4a-a1 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image4324_cb5d4a-a1\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"619\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Christian-3_web-1-619x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-16166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Christian-3_web-1-619x480.jpg 619w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Christian-3_web-1-250x194.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Christian-3_web-1-768x595.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Christian-3_web-1.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px\" \/><figcaption><em>Christian\u2019s sister, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jennifer Christian, accepted her father\u2019s diploma, and Steven followed her to accept his.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was a privilege to honor Mr. Christian, who proudly served our country,\u201d says Wilmington University President&nbsp;Dr. LaVerne Harmon. \u201cWe are equally proud of his son, Gunnery Sgt. Steven Christian, who maintained his coursework while also serving in the military. Steven is a passionate ambassador of Wilmington University. We are humbled by his kind words, and, like his father, his belief in lifelong learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The night before commencement, the family had flown into Philadelphia to attend the ceremony at Wilmington\u2019s Chase Center on the Riverfront, where Steven\u2019s sister, Petty Officer 3rd Class&nbsp;Jennifer Christian, accepted her father\u2019s diploma, and Steven followed her to accept his.&nbsp;The next day, they drove to Calverton National Cemetery in New York and conferred Lowell with his degree.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image4324_20eb7b-60 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image4324_20eb7b-60\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Christian-2-web-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-16167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Christian-2-web-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Christian-2-web-1-250x188.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption><em>Christian prepared a \u201ctoast\u201d to his father to honor his achievements.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI had the program with his name and my name in it, a copy of my thesis, and the pen they gave me at commencement,\u201d Steven says. \u201cI buried it at his gravestone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was the hardest thing he\u2019d ever done. Never mind his wartime service, including the time he and three other Marines jumped off a truck on a highway near Pohang, South Korea, to save a man trapped inside a smoking, wrecked vehicle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy father loved his children and service to the Navy, but his education was the greatest thing he felt he had ever done,\u201d Steven says. \u201cHe didn\u2019t get to live that out, so for my sister and I to finish it for him and take it to him, that was my entire life.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A commitment to&nbsp;lifelong learning&nbsp;inspires a poignant moment for a proud military family When&nbsp;Gunnery Sgt.&nbsp;Steven Christian&nbsp;enrolled at Wilmington University to earn a Master of Science degree&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[610],"class_list":["post-4324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-magazine","tag-magazine-fall-2022"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":610,"label":"Magazine Fall 2022"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Rachel Marchione","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/rachel\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":610,"name":"Magazine Fall 2022","slug":"magazine-fall-2022","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1167,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4324"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16169,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4324\/revisions\/16169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}