Special ceremony for BCSO graduates

SAN ANTONIO – One said yes, the other stopped a shooter in his tracks, and the third beat all odds.

Three different women all graduated from the Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputy graduation.

On Wednesday it was a splendid display. that turned the BCSO graduate into a proposal site.

"My heart's racing. It feels like it's going to jump out of my chest right now," said Joaquin Galvan, BCSO Graduate as he described the moments leading up to the proposal.

His newly pronounced fiancé said when they met they fit together like a puzzle piece.

"I was working at a school and he was a police officer at the school and we just hit it off since then," said Galvan's fiancé.

"I mean, she stood by my side the whole time -- through the whole part of my early career. It just felt like the right time especially with all my new brothers and sisters and family and friends being here," Said Galvan.

Among this accomplished group -- a deputy who's already proven to be a hero.

In 2012, Lisa Castellano was working at the Mayan Movie Theater when a gunman ran inside and fired a shot.

Castellano fired back, wounding the man.

"Everything's changed, but today I am more myself than I have ever been," said Lisa Castellano, BCSO graduate

Another graduate, Deputy Candice Rodriguez suffered a severed spinal cord two years ago when she stopped -- while off duty -- to help a stranded driver alongside a highway when a drunk driver hit her from behind.

"I cried to myself so many times thinking that was it, that was the end of my career, but I had it in my head that wasn't going to be the last of me," said Rodriguez. "Here I am and I thank God every day."

The total number of graduates for Wednesday's class was 21 deputies. Congratulations to all.


About the Authors:

Myra Arthur is passionate about San Antonio and sharing its stories. She graduated high school in the Alamo City and always wanted to anchor and report in her hometown. Myra anchors KSAT News at 6:00 p.m. and hosts and reports for the streaming show, KSAT Explains. She joined KSAT in 2012 after anchoring and reporting in Waco and Corpus Christi.