It was standing room only inside the base Chapel as service members, family and friends recognized Rota's newest college graduates.

Sixty-four Sailors, airmen, military spouses and Department of Defense civilians received their degrees during Rota's 2015 Navy College graduation ceremony, where 16 different colleges were represented.

Capt. Greg Pekari, commander, U.S. Naval Activities (COMNAVACT) Spain, remarked on the various challenges each new graduate had to be sitting where they were that day.

"It took a lot of time, discipline and perseverance to finish what you started," said Pekari. "You had to balance your time between your studies, work, taking care of your family and spending time with your friends. That's a difficult thing to do."

Pekari stated the senior leadership throughout Naval Station Rota's 39 tenant commands are proud of their service members, spouses, and civilians for stepping out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves, but also stressed the importance of continuing on to even higher education.

"The homework is behind you, the deadlines have been met, and your goal has been accomplished," said Pekari. "Even though you will leave here with a degree, I challenge you to not stop here. Use your degree and talents to improve the lives of others and the environment around you: your family, your friends, your service and your country."

The keynote speaker of the commencement ceremony was Dr. Lee Williams, dean of the Graduate College at the University of Oklahoma. Williams has more than 6,000 students at the University of Oklahoma, 1,500 of which are active duty military stationed overseas. He often uses his military students as an example for those on campus.

"When the stateside student complains about how much time and effort they have to spend getting the work done by the allotted time, I like to mention that my military students complete the same course work in the same allotted time, along with all of their other demanding military responsibilities," said Williams.

Williams believes that furthering your education not only benefits yourself, it benefits your family, your employer, your colleagues, and society.

"The real value of the education is that you become more capable, knowledgeable, innovative, and adaptive professional that has great propensity to develop your leadership skills and help you become leaders in your chosen area," said Williams. "Congratulations for doing what it took to get where you are now. Take this degree that you've earned and make something of it."

Among the 64 graduates, were a Sailor and his wife, who motivated one another to meet course deadlines and do the necessary studying to ensure they keep their grades up.

Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jesse Zambrano received an associate's degree in emergency management and homeland security from Coastline Community College, while his wife Sasha, received an associate's degree in general studies from the University of Maryland University College.

"It was challenging at times but you just have to find the time to get your work done and not make excuses," said Jesse Zambrano. "Now that I'm done with this one, I'm going to keep moving forward."

"It was excellent to be able to walk with my husband as we both received our degrees," said his wife, Sasha. "He has made it possible for me to get this degree by being patient when I had classes to go to and studying to get done."

The Navy College Program mission is to provide continual academic support to Sailors and their spouses while they pursue a technical or college degree, regardless of their location or duty station.

For more news from Naval Station Rota, Spain, visit www.navy.mil/.