A college graduate was left stunned when her sister returned from U.S. Navy duty in Japan to photobomb her graduation photo with family.
Lexi Gette, who studied at Temple University in Philadelphia, is extremely close with sister Gabby, a lieutenant in Sasebo, Japan, and a dentist on the USS America (LHA6).
Gabby, 29, only gets a limited amount of leave, so Lexi was left upset when she was faced with the prospect of her sister not being able to attend her graduation.
Lexi’s graduation had extra significance to Gabby, too, as she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology, which she plans to use to attend dental school and become a dentist in the Navy like her sister.
Secretly, though, Gabby had spent some time planning her next trip back to the U.S., which she made sure would tie in with Lexi’s big day.
Having watched the graduation ceremony away from her family at the top of the venue, so Lexi wouldn’t see her, Gabby then made her way to the part of the campus where families were having their photos taken.
With her uncle’s cellphone capturing her entrance on video, Gabby snuck into a family snap that Lexi was having on a set of steps with her parents.
As soon as she realized her sister was standing next to her, Lexi’s jaw dropped in shock, and the pair then embraced.
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Gabby and Lexi’s sister, Chelcie, who shared the video online, said: “Gabby had been texting me the whole time.
“Temple is in downtown Philly, so it was chaotic, and we were trying to find a spot to take a picture, but without letting Lexi know, Gabby was there.
“So, Gabby was following my location on Apple Maps.
“When we finally picked a spot, we kept distracting Lexi by having her take pictures with everyone individually.
“Finally, when Gabby was around the corner, I snuck away and led her to Lexi.
“I started to tear up because I was so happy Lexi was surprised.
“A lot of people were very happy and overjoyed at the moment. Some mutual friends said they started to tear up watching it.”