Family presented posthumous degree to honor late son, STC grad

Daniel Saldaña was set to be the first in his family to graduate from college this weekend as he earned a certificate in Welding from South Texas College, but instead his brother Devon Saldaña, walked across the stage in his brother’s cap and gown to honor his brother’s legacy.

Three days before commencement on Thursday, December 12, is a day forever etched in his family’s lives as the day they lost a son, brother and friend. Saldaña, 20, who suffers from epilepsy had a seizure and never made it to his graduation day.

Last Sunday South Texas College honored Daniel, a member of the Student Government Association, and his family with a posthumous degree.

“I’m very proud of him and it’s an honor to sit here today, realizing his dream,” said his mother Cariño Saldivar Sandoval, tearfully. “He was really looking forward to this day. He was very proud to be the first in this family to graduate from college. Days before his death, he proudly came to me and said ‘Mom, I made it.’ I wish he was here to see it all.”

A welder since high school, Saldaña found he enjoyed the profession, but wasn’t sure if college was really for him. When he found STC’s Welding program, he decided to enroll.

“He was looking for a college program he could finish quickly and get to work,” said his father David Saldaña Sr. “He was my youngest and had a wonderful heart of gold. I’m honored that STC has made this day possible for us. We really needed this.”

Through his education and his decision to be an organ donor, David added that Daniel’s legacy will live on. His heart will beat again.

“Even in death, he’s saving lives and thinking of others. That’s who Daniel was,” said David. “He’ll be around us, for a long, long time and now he’s part of this college’s  history.”

Devon shared the sentiment and said that Daniel was a rainbow for everyone; he could make everyone’s day better.

“To be here for my brother, to accept his certificate, I felt like this was the least I could,” he said. “He was an inspiration to many, including myself. I’m now enrolled as a Welding student also. I want to make him proud. I hope I make him proud.”

A couple of days before he passed, Daniel had a job interview he was excited for. His mother said he had a good feeling about the job.

“I’m not sure exactly what the job entailed or who it was with, but I do know he was excited. So, for him to be excited, it had to have been good,” she said. “He was ready to start his life.”

He will be remembered as a type of student who always went above and beyond and supported his peers.

“Daniel was described by his professors as a motivational student, always going above and beyond to help his fellow students prosper in the program,” said Sara Lozano, Ed.D., dean of Business, Public Safety and Technology.