One graduate at Carle Place High School received more than a diploma at the commencement ceremony held Friday. 

Kerry Carrera was feeling sad because her father, a Navy commander, told her he couldn't come home from his deployment in Africa for her graduation.

School Principal Tom DePaola told Carrera that her dad wanted to do the next best thing and join the ceremony via cellphone.

“Honey, I want to tell you how much I love you and to apologize. I'm sorry I missed your birthday. I missed your prom. But I definitely wasn't going to miss this day,” Lt. Commander Luis Carrera said on the phone call.

He was actually hiding in the crowd, wearing a cap and gown, disguised as one of the teachers until the big reveal.

The daughter-father reunion drew the crowd to their feet.

“It was very overwhelming because I didn't have any idea that he was here or that he could fly out here,” Carrera said.

As a career Navyman, Lt. Commander Carrera has missed many milestones in his only child's life while serving overseas, but he made it his mission to be at her graduation.

Lt. Commander Carrera says aside from his daughter's birth, seeing her graduate from high school was the best moment of this life.