LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- Behind every milestone and victory in life, is a road, paved with sweat and tears. Sometimes, those tears are happy, sometimes they're of sadness or grief.
Gary Traynor had a dream: To see his daughter Shannon Satterfield succeed, put her mind to something, and, no matter how far the distance, travel it. He wanted her to conquer her dreams.
“I didn't know that I wanted to finish college,” Satterfield said.
This weekend, she will be taking the stage at the University of Louisville commencement after 12 years of study. She will be graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication and Broadcasting and is the first in her family to graduate college.
For Satterfield, every step towards that degree is a step back in time.
“I was at home, it was Mother's Day. We always go to the track on Mother's Day with my mom's side of the family. My brother was living with me at the time, and he came into my room early and I told him it wasn’t time to go to the track,” she recalls.
This Mother's Day, and every year forward, is the beginning of a painful reminder.
“I asked who is it, and he said it was dad, we rushed over there and he had died in his sleep."
After her father's death, Satterfield continued to study and work to fulfill her father's dream. She was supposed to graduate in December, but an internship got in the way. She said that waiting was a hard pill to swallow, but the timing could not have worked out better.
The 2019 UofL Commencement falls on Mother's Day, the same day that her dad passed away.
“I have to do this. I need to walk for him” Satterfield said. With that, it became full circle.
"Even though it was a heartbreaking day for me, it’s also a great day to celebrate something for him,” she said.
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