Nothing Can Stop Grandfather From Seeing Granddaughter Graduate
Ralph Adkins didn’t care how poorly he felt or how difficult the trek from Wildomar to San Marcos might be. There was no chance he was going to miss the graduation of his granddaughter, Alyson Adkins, from Cal State San Marcos on Dec. 17.
“It didn’t matter if I was on my deathbed,” said Ralph, who has been battling two types of cancer and congestive heart failure.
“He was going to crawl here if he had to,” said Robin Adkins, Ralph’s wife.
The commencement ceremony was one of three held by CSUSM, which became the first public university in San Diego County to host a fall graduation.
Alyson Adkins was one of more than 500 graduates who participated in the festivities. A human development major, Alyson is the first of Ralph and Robin’s three grandchildren to graduate from college, making the day even more special. Alyson is planning to continue her education in an 18-month accelerated nursing program at Grand Canyon University.
Robin commended CSUSM’s commencement team for helping to ensure Ralph made it safely inside the Sports Center for the noon ceremony. She said Ralph and Alyson share a special connection, one forged from the moment Alyson was born and Ralph cut her umbilical cord.
“They have a bond that none of us can touch, you know?” Robin said. “His prized possession is a 1970 Corvette that we got him when he came out of chemo. And he restored it. And we all know that car is going to ‘Redhead.’ It’s in the will – she gets it.”
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