An army father surprises his daughter at graduation in Florida after years abroad

(CNN) – The graduation day already announced as a great moment in Kayla Tillman's life, but this was made even more memorable by the surprise visit from her father, who serves overseas in the US. army for years.

Staff Sgt. Anthony Tillman came on the scene at the graduation ceremony at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday, took off his uniform hat and offered a huge hug to his daughter.

"I had the impression of hugging him for hours, I felt hugging him a little too long," she said.

Kayla said her father had served in South Korea and told him three days before graduation that he could not do it.

"I did not know it would come," she says.

School officials did not know either.

Assistant Director Margie Scott says that Tillman arrived about an hour before the ceremony and asked for a surprise to his daughter. They scrambled to find a way to solve it.

"There was never any question of whether we wanted to do it or not, we just wanted to make it as fair as possible," Scott said.

They ended up calling Kayla on the stage for special recognition before introducing her father.

"When they called my father there, I was happy, I was filled with joy and I was stunned," she said.

"I could not even move, I could not feel my legs, I could not feel my arms, I was overwhelmed with joy."

Kayla said her father was in the army since she was in second grade and that he had gone a long way.

She said that he regularly talks with her and her sister about FaceTime, but she has not seen him in person since the beginning of the eighth year.

She said that they could only spend a little time together after graduation.

"He left that night, I saw him for two hours, we had dinner," she said. "Every time I see it, our time is very limited."

"When they call me crying, when I can not fix something, be there to fix it," says Tillman. "I think it's one of the most difficult things – not being there when they really need me."

Kayla says she plans to take an online course so she can progress before going to university. She specializes in biological sciences and hopes to become a doctor.

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