This Army Dad’s Mission? To Attend His Daughter’s Graduation

Kids who have a parent serving in the military must grow up knowing that their mom or dad faces the very difficult challenge of balancing their responsibilities in the Armed Forces with their family life.
That was the bittersweet reality facing Ruby Robinson as she celebrated receiving her degree from Columbia University’s engineering program. Ruby’s father, U.S. Army Reserve Captain Keith Robinson, had been stationed in northern Afghanistan for the last six months, and she understood that he would not be able to make it to her commencement ceremony.
However, in an amazing stroke of luck, the Captain was given approval to leave his unit. To make it to the ceremony in New York City, he embarked on a journey that lasted more than 14 hours — leaving Kuwait and making stops in Washington, D.C., and Denver along the way. Miraculously, he made it just in time for the ceremony.
With a bouquet of flowers in hand, the proud father greeted and gave a warm embrace to the new Ivy League grad. Tears of joy immediately flow from Ruby’s eyes and the crowd goes wild with applause and cheers.
“Congratulations, young lady,” he tells her in the clip. “I’m so proud of you.”

As Today.com reports, the army captain will remain in the U.S. for two weeks before returning to Afghanistan, where he will remain until the fall. As for his daughter, Ruby will be moving to California in the summer to start a job at Amazon.
Despite being apart, it sounds like they’re both fulfilling the duties that they trained for.
MORE: You Won’t Believe What This Veteran Received Upon His Homecoming