When Paige Wheeler walked across the stage to receive her diploma during the St. Ambrose University commencement ceremony, she couldn't have imagined who would be greeting her off stage.
Her brother Logan Wheeler, who serves in the U.S. Navy, was waiting near the stage with a bouquet of flowers in hand. As Paige turned the corner with her diploma, her eyes suddenly lit up with surprise. She immediately runs into his arms.
The two both shed tears as they hug, Logan whispers, "I'm so proud of you."
The crowd stands and cheers.
Logan has been stationed in Virginia, and told his sister that he wouldn't be able to attend her graduation.
"He told me that they wouldn't allow him to leave for my graduation and he would be coming home later in the month," Paige said, as she looks at her big brother and smiles.
Logan responds, "I'm a very good liar apparently."
Logan carefully, and secretly planned the surprise. He admitted he had been hiding the news since September.
"It was hard to lie to her that whole time," Logan said.
Paige couldn't stop smiling.
"I honestly haven't been more surprised in my life," she said.
For the first half of the ceremony, Logan hid in a dark room in the River Center, impatiently waiting.
"I may have knocked out about 200 pushups while I was waiting," Logan laughingly said.
Paige graduated magna cum laude with a degree in political science. She will be attending law school at the University of Missouri, and Logan has already promised that he will be in attendance.