Afghanistan-bound Army lieutenant finishes Brenau degree with top honors

GAINESVILLE- Frank Abrahamsen graduated summa cum laude from Brenau University. But instead of donning the black cap and gown and picking up his diploma at commencement exercises here on Saturday May 5, he pulled on the camouflage uniform of a U.S. Army officer preparing for deployment to Afghanistan.

1st Lt. Abrahamsen, 43, a member of the Florida Army National Guard, reported May 1 at Camp Blanding near Jacksonville, Fla., for active duty with the 870th Engineer Company (Sappers). After training that has the group jumping between four states, the combat engineer and his unit will be assigned somewhere in the war zone later this summer.

Abrahamsen says he wishes his wife, Elizabeth, and children Billy, 20, Bay, 15, and Autumn, 10, could have seen him walk across the stage at the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville. However, he added, "They see the accomplishment."

So do his Brenau instructors and advisers. In his pursuit of a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice he made all A's