Sergeant Bryane Greene is thousands of miles away deployed in Afghanistan but his heart and soul are back home with his family especially since his oldest child, Harmony, graduated from college this month. The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs at Syracuse University made certain that Sergeant Greene could watch his daughter receive her degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University through an online live stream. It was a moment he will always cherish.
My name is Bryane A. Greene; I was born in Chicago, Illinois and currently reside in California. I have been in the military for over 16 years and with two deployments it has not been easy as a dad. Having a family structure in which everyone supports each other as we do makes times like this easier yet they are still missed. I am currently deployed in Bagram, Afghanistan, finishing up on the second leg of an 18-month tour.
Harmony is the oldest of six and it was an honor to watch her take that walk across the stage and graduate from college. Seeing a young lady with so much desire and heart never give up or give in has been wonderful. Knowing that when times got hard being away from home, to see her go through the growing pains of becoming a woman and knowing how to handle those situations, to get to this day was incredible. At times, she had to work late hours to finish her class work, all the while trying to have a normal college lifestyle, too. Let’s just say that I have watched her not just receive her degree, but I have seen what road she had to take to get there, and it makes me even prouder of her accomplishment. She has the strength beyond measure to achieve whatever she sets out to attain no matter how hard the road is.
I remember when we first took Harmony out to Syracuse, going to her dorm and seeing that our big girl was turning into a young woman right before our very eyes. She made the first step in pursuing her dream, and to see her excitement in just shopping for things for her college room was beautiful. With all that Harmony has experienced at Syracuse, I can confidently say that it was a good fit. She was able to do what she wanted, which was to be on her own and in control of her own success. Yes, missing home was hard at times, but the Syracuse community kept her busy and now, four years later, she has accomplished what she set out to do: earn her degreeand move towards accomplishing the rest of her goals. To Syracuse, I say thank you; for you are regarded by our entire family as a great university. Being from Chicago, Blue and Orange fit right in. So now I have the Blue and Orange of both because “Real Dads Wear Orange.” Go Cuse!
Sergeant Bryane Greene is expected home this fall and he eagerly awaits reuniting with his family.
For more information on the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, visit https://veterans.syracuse.edu.