© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Graduation Beamed to Soldiers in Iraq

As if Chris Hochstetler wasn't excited enough about graduating from his Killeen, Texas, high school, his ceremony this weekend carried with it an extra element of emotion. Thanks to a special two-way video hookup, his stepfather, Army Sgt. Eugene Mont, was looking on from halfway across the world in Baghdad as the 18-year-old accepted his diploma Sunday.

Mont -- serving as a Bradley fighting vehicle mechanic with the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq -- was among several soldiers watching the ceremony from the Iraqi capital. The 1st Cavalry Division is based in Fort Hood, Texas, near Killeen.

Shoemaker High School was among eight Killeen schools whose graduations were beamed via satellite to Iraq from May 25-30. More than one-fourth of Shoemaker's 400 graduates have parents deployed with the U.S. military overseas.

The Killeen Independent School District and the Army worked together to give soldiers a way to see their children graduate, via satellite link. The ceremonies were also streamed over the Internet.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.