Father, Son Duo Shape Charlotte Studies To Graduate Together
The chance to reclaim lost time doesn’t come along every day. A father and son who graduated from UNC Charlotte during the December commencement season found just such an opportunity.
Two years ago, Scott Stewart Sr. ’24 MBA was winding up a 38-year military career, with his most recent stints serving in the U.S. Air Force as an antiterrorism and force protection expert. During his career, he and son Scott Stewart Jr. ’24 were apart during his assignments, at times for years.
Catching up on the phone one day with his son, who was already excelling in the William States Lee College of Engineering, Stewart Sr. confessed to his son that he felt at loose ends.
“I remember I was just finishing up my sophomore year at Charlotte,” the younger Stewart said. “That’s right around when my dad was getting ready to retire and I told him that he could come to school with me. It was said kind of as a joke or as an offhand comment. And I guess he took it seriously. Almost six or seven months later, he said, ‘Hey, I actually want to try it. I want to see if I can do it.’ That’s how it all started.”
For the father, the generous offer to join his son at Charlotte was too good to pass up. “I viewed it as I was getting a year and a half back to spend with my son. I always tell everybody he’s my best friend, buddy, pal and son all rolled up into one.”