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A mom was overcome with emotion when she received a shock message throughout her faculty graduation from her son who’s at the moment on obligation at the Texas-Mexico border.
“My mama heart was bursting,” Jennifer Duggin, 50, of Woodbury, Tennessee, informed Fox News Digital.
“I was not expecting that at all, and I do not like to be the center of attention, but when Will popped up there on the screen, I started to cry. It completely surprised me.”
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“Hey, Mom,” Sgt. William Bailey, 28, may be heard saying in the video, wearing his Tennessee Army National Guard uniform.
“I know I’m not there for graduation, so I figured I’d make you a video to tell you congratulations and I love you. Keep pushing. I’ll see you soon.”
A mom from Tennessee was surprised with a video proven at her graduation after her son who’s deployed, couldn’t attend. (Tennessee Tech University)
Duggin, who’s navy lively herself — Sgt. First Class Duggin, additionally of the Tennessee Army National Guard — is aware of that lacking particular moments is a part of the job.
She served in Iraq in the early 2009s-2010s whereas elevating her children.
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So, Duggin wasn’t dissatisfied that her son was not there when she obtained a diploma for her grasp’s diploma in skilled research from Tennessee Tech University.
Jennifer Duggin, left, and her son, William Bailey, proper, are each lively in the navy, so the mom was not upset when her son was not ready to be current for her graduation. (Jennifer Duggin)
“We’re military,” Duggin mentioned. “We miss a lot of things. But he got to watch the ceremony live. And when we left, I called him crying, and he said, ‘I got you, didn’t I?’ I said, ‘Yes you did. You got me.’”
Bailey is at the moment serving in McAllen, Texas, as the U.S. border disaster continues.
“My mom has always supported all of us growing up, even when she was overseas,” Bailey informed Fox News Digital.
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“I felt like I got to return the favor,” he added. “To see her happy always brings happiness to me because my mom will always be No. 1.”
During the graduation ceremony, Bailey’s video was performed in entrance of all the graduates — bringing his mom to tears. (Tennessee Tech University)
Duggin joined the National Guard when she was 17, however at all times knew that sooner or later she needed to get a school training, she mentioned.
But she put nation and household first, marrying a “hometown boy” at a younger age and having a son.
“I wanted out of that little bitty town that I now live in,” Duggin mentioned with amusing.
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“I wanted to see things. I wanted to do things. And I wanted to go to college. So I joined. It was definitely good for me,” she added.
“Most people look up to a superhero or a famous person in life. I get to look up to my mom.”
While serving in Iraq, she labored in provide.
“We delivered supplies from one FOB, which is a forward operating base to our other forward operating bases all over Iraq,” Duggin mentioned.
“We took them on convoys. I’m actually in aviation, so we’d fly.”
She returned dwelling in 2010 and continued working in a full-time navy job. In 2012, she started a brand new place refueling helicopters.
Duggin graduated with her grasp’s diploma in only one 12 months and with a 4.0. (Tennessee Tech University)
All this whereas she and her second husband raised 10 youngsters between them.
“We have our three boys,” Duggin mentioned. “We had our nieces and nephews, and we had some bonus children who were friends of our kids. So, somebody’s going to take care of us when we get old.”
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In 2014, a pal requested Duggin if she needed to be a part of her in incomes an affiliate’s diploma.
She was all in — however didn’t cease there.
Duggin was left surprised after wanting up at the display throughout her graduation solely to see her son speaking to her on video. (Tennessee Tech University)
She continued her training and commenced engaged on her bachelor’s diploma in interdisciplinary research with a minor in public security and psychology.
“I used to be already in faculty and I assumed, I’m already two years in. I would as properly end,” she mentioned.
“I only did two classes at a time, which is what took so long, because I’m a perfectionist and I wanted straight As,” Duggin mentioned.
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She earned her bachelor’s diploma in 2023, she mentioned.
“Your education is one thing no one can take from you.”
Duggin then enrolled in graduate programs and earned her grasp’s diploma in only one 12 months, with a 4.0 grade common.
“I’ve done a lot of hard things in my life, but getting that master’s in one year was hard,” Duggin mentioned.
“I did a lot of crying and a lot of wanting to quit. But I had a point to prove and a bucket list to check off. It was a lifelong goal of mine to get my bachelor’s degree. I never dreamed I’d get my master’s.”
Duggin additionally works as a readiness NCO, which is an administrative function for her unit.
Duggin was overcome with emotion after seeing her son on her big day. (Tennessee Tech University)
She helps and advises troopers via all of life’s selections and challenges, akin to getting married, divorced, having youngsters — and in addition their skilled navy profession.
Staff Sgt. James Rhodes, who works with Duggin, mentioned she’s supportive of all troopers whether or not it is “on the job or off.”
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“If we have an event on the civilian side, she would go out of her way to come to that event no matter who you are,” Rhodes informed Fox News Digital. “She treats everybody equally and she literally takes care of us.”
Duggin mentioned she remembers what it’s like to be an adolescent in the navy — and hopes to share her expertise with these simply beginning out in life.
Duggin and a number of other different college students stood up throughout the ceremony as they have been honored for his or her service in the navy. (Tennessee Tech University)
“I made a lot of wrong turns,” Duggin mentioned. “But thank goodness God allows [a] U-turn. I’ve been married to my husband now for 18 years, and he’s my biggest cheerleader. We all make mistakes. We sometimes just go down the wrong path. The only way we can fix it is to do a U-turn and start all over. So that’s what I did.”
She recommends a navy profession to women and men who need to set themselves up for fulfillment.
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“You’re guaranteed a paycheck, and you’re guaranteed benefits,” she mentioned.
“It pays for college. When you retire, you have insurance for the rest of your life. Yes, you’re making a sacrifice. There’s less than 1% that join the military. Go be part of that,” Duggin added.
Bailey needed to comply with in his mom’s footsteps and determined to serve in the navy. (Jennifer Duggin)
That’s precisely what her son did.
“Most people look up to a superhero or a famous person in life. I get to look up to my mom,” Bailey mentioned.
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“The decisions my mom makes in the military impact her, but also her soldiers — and me. She pushes me to be a better soldier every day and become a better leader myself so I can grow through the military and help others.”
One message Duggin mentioned she’d like to share is that you just’re by no means too outdated to get an training.
Duggin proudly put her diplomas up in her workplace and encourages others to go after their training, regardless of how outdated they’re. (Jennifer Duggin/Tennessee Tech University)
“These two pieces of paper hanging on my wall in my office — I earned it. I tell my soldiers that all the time. When you’re young, sometimes it’s hard, but you’re never too old to go back to school. Even if it’s one class at a time.”
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