Alabama State University News February 24, 2014 Soldier Mom Surprises Daughter at ASU Basketball Game The Alabama State University men's and women's basketball teams beat Alcorn State on Saturday, but the real slam-dunk of the game came when Pamela Tucker surprised her daughter after spending eight months in Afghanistan. Back in the U.S. for some much needed rest and relaxation, Tucker decided to surprise her daughter, Onell Latimore, for her birthday. Latimore, a third-generation ASU student, is also following in her mother's footsteps as a member of ASU's cheerleading team. Tucker, who was a captain of ASU's cheerleading team in 1990, showed up unannounced at ASU's game Saturday, to see her daughter in action. "I haven't seen my daughter since June of 2013," Tucker said. "When she graduated from high school in Japan, we left Japan together to come to Alabama. I dropped her off here at ASU, and then I was headed to Afghanistan. I was elated to see her. When I left her here, she was a teenager, and now she has morphed into this young adult. I am so proud. When I looked at her on the sidelines cheering, I had a glimpse of my former glory." Tucker, a Department of Defense education activity teacher from Misawa Air Base, Japan, leads a small team of Civilian Expeditionary Workforce employees who teach Afghan military, police and government employees. Although Tucker is a staff sergeant in the Army Reserve, her current position in Afghanistan is a civilian role. She said two previous deployments to Iraq helped prepare her for the conditions she would face. The sounds of gunfire, bombs exploding and the daily security threats can be difficult and overwhelming, she said, but she volunteered because of a desire to empower the Afghan people to communicate globally. "The security threats are something that I may not ever get used to, but as the U.S. transitions out of Afghanistan, we want them to be a better position to defend themselves and to take care of their country," Tucker said. Tucker said her husband, who is in Japan, is flying to Alabama today, and her son, who is in law school at Barry University, is flying into town in the next couple of days to spend family time together. "It has been four years since I have seen both children together in one place, at the same time, with husband in tow." She said. "And the fact that we will all get to see her cheer here at my ASU is awesome. So this is a big deal for me." During her time back on campus, Tucker was invited to meet President Gwendolyn E. Boyd. As it turns out, the two have much in common. Both are ASU alumni and members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and both have been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. Tucker was unable to serve on the Commission because she was overseas when she was nominated in 2010. Boyd said Tucker is one more example of how Alabama State University is the "land of opportunity." "To have Pamela back home and to now have her daughter being a freshman here at ASU says that we believe in this institution so much that we send our legacies here, and we know that they are going to get a quality education," Boyd said. "We have ASU alumni all over the world, and this just reinforces that and says that we love ASU and we come back and support ASU." SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.