Onslow County father honors late son's legacy by accepting his college diploma

An Onslow County father honored his late son’s legacy by accepting his college diploma at UNCW’s commencement Saturday morning.

Shaun Edwards Jr. completed his Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies shortly before passing away from cancer at the age of 22 on Sept. 7. His father, Shaun Edwards Sr., accepted his son’s framed diploma at UNCW’s commencement ceremony for the College of Arts and Sciences Saturday morning.

“It meant a lot because it wasn’t an honorary degree, it was his,” Edwards said, adding Shaun finished his studies from his hospital bed, even reading lines for a play he had to perform for a final. “He read his lines from his bed and his classmates applauded him because they all knew what he was going through. It just meant a lot to cap off his legacy with actually being able to accept his diploma because that was important to him, and it was important to us.”

Shaun and his family found out about the cancer in March of this year. Edwards said Shaun had a seven-inch germ cell tumor in his chest cavity, which was pressing up against his right lung and heart.

He said when the doctors found the tumor, it was so big that they immediately tried four rounds of chemotherapy.

“He went through it, persevered going and driving to Wilmington for all his treatments between driving with his mom or me and sometimes he would drive back or sometimes he would be too sick,” Edwards said. “But he would try as hard as he could to fight that off.”

Shaun even got to ring the bell after completing his chemotherapy, but the tumor was too big.

Edwards said just days before he passed, Shaun was flown to UNC Chapel Hill to have a tumor resection, but it wasn’t enough. However, even after being diagnosed with cancer, Edwards said his son was hopeful for his future.

Shaun was the oldest of three children, and Edwards said they were homeschooled throughout grade school. The military brought the Edwards family to Jacksonville in 2010.

After graduating from high school, Edwards said Shaun enrolled at Coastal Carolina Community College and received his Associate of Arts degree in 2019 before transferring to UNCW in 2020.

“He loved his time as a Seahawk,” Edwards said. “He worked at the Dub Cafe, one of their cafeterias and took advantage of all the amenities they had there on campus. He stayed down in Wilmington until COVID hit and then once that hit, he had to go remote. Reluctantly, because he enjoyed being on campus, enjoyed the college life.”

During his junior year, Edwards said they started talking about what Shaun wanted to do with his degree. He started writing for the school newspaper, but then started thinking about joining the military.

Shaun ultimately decided he wanted to join the coast guard, and after seeing a recruiter in Oct. 2021, Shaun and Edwards went to MEPS (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey) in Raleigh, where Shaun passed his physical exam.

“That is what he was going to do with his future,” Edwards said. “Up until when we found out about the tumor, and even after we found out about the tumor, he was still hopeful, we all were, because we didn’t think that he was not going to make it. That was his goal.”

Edwards met privately in the Golden Hawk Room with UNCW Chancellor Volety a few minutes prior to the ceremony on Saturday, where he was presented Shaun’s framed diploma. Then, during the ceremony, he crossed the stage to be recognized.

For others experiencing the same kind of loss as Edwards and his family, he said to harness the memories you have, because there’s no one who can express to you how to grieve.

“This is something like I’ve never experienced,” Edwards said. “You never want somebody else to experience this but if they are, those memories will carry you through. There’s a lot of positives that I have to rely on for my son. We had so much love in our family and just the support that we gave each other. Find others who are willing to listen to you and just be there for you. It’s hard doing it on your own, but I have my wife and two kids and all of my family who are supporting us. So, definitely reach out. People are willing to help.”

Edwards works at Dixon High School, and this past fall, he said they did a St. Jude walk in Shaun’s honor. Edwards said one of Dixon’s student’s siblings was diagnosed with brain cancer and she goes to St. Jude.

He said they just wanted an opportunity for Shaun’s legacy to be a part of and attached to something bigger than him.

Edwards’ daughter dances at Dance Theatre of Jacksonville and they hold a fundraiser for St. Jude’s every year. This year, Edwards said they raised over $3,500, which he said is awesome for families to be able to stay up there, get treatment or whatever other reason there may be.

“Just that we were able to do something to continue on with his legacy but also attach it to something that, what if somebody else is going through the same thing. St. Jude is a great cause, so we wanted to give to that.”

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@jdnews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Father honors late son’s legacy by accepting his college diploma