Deployed Sailor Surprises Sister at Commencement

View an SAUtv report on Paige's surprise

Seaman Bosun's Mate Logan Wheeler had spent 300 of the past 365 days on a Navy frigate patrolling the coasts of Syria and Libya, two of the Middle East's hotter hotspots.

Yet it was counting down the minutes until he would spring an emotional surprise on his graduating sister at the St. Ambrose Winter Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 13, that left him feeling tense.

"My heart is racing," the twice-deployed seaman from Wilton, Iowa, said moments before making Paige Wheeler's special day considerably more special.

After collecting her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree, Paige exited the stage at the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport, turned right to return to her seat and then found the brother she hadn't seen in months – and did not expect to see at commencement – waiting to greet her with a bouquet of flowers.

"He got me good," said Paige, who instantly broke into tears and grabbed her only sibling for an emotional hug. "He told me he was coming home at the end of December and that he tried to get leave for graduation and was upset that he couldn't get it."

Paige graduated magna cum laude and was among 264 candidates for St. Ambrose degrees on Saturday. The emotion-filled moment briefly interrupted the ceremony and drew a rousing round of applause from the graduates and their families and friends.

Logan had been planning the surprise for his sister's big day since September, when he returned to the US for a friend's wedding. At 25, he is four years older than his sister and confessed he gave her the typical amount of trouble older brothers tend to give younger sisters growing up.

"We had days," Paige agreed. "But as we got older, we grew closer. I have always looked up to him and I was really proud when he decided to join the Navy. I think our bond got tighter as we were farther apart and he has been very supportive of me going through school."

Paige will enroll next year at the University of Missouri School of Law.

"I couldn't be a prouder brother," Logan said. "It is an awesome feeling. Words can't really explain how I feel right now."

Logan's four-year Navy enlistment will end in June and, though he intends to join the Navy Reserves, he said his agenda is to go to college in pursuit of his own degree.

Paige will not hesitate to remind her brother that St. Ambrose is among the few colleges in the region that has an Office of Veterans Recruitment and Services.

"There's nothing better than being an Ambrosian," she said. "I definitely enjoyed my time here and I wouldn't have done it any other way."