ST. LEO, Fla. — November is National Adoption Month and today marks National Adoption Day.

It's a journey that many families throughout the state take every year.

What You Need To Know

  • For one Tampa area couple, the path to adoption was made a little more conveniently, thanks to their employer

  • St. Leo University has a benefit program for employees who become adoptive parents, reimbursing them for adoption expenses

  • It's been a full-circle moment for this family of four

One local university is making the adoption process more convenient for its employees.

“Always a lot of energy and excitement. And just a lot of hair — she’s just always had a ton of hair,” Stephen Okey says, sitting at his kitchen table as he flips through the pages of a book that holds a special meaning.

“The book is meant to give kind of a picture of what life with us is like,” he said.

In the last couple of years, what life has been like for the Okey family has taken on a whole new meaning with the adoption of their daughter, Dorothy.

“I think a big part of the adoption process, for us, was patience,” said Okey. “Especially in our case, we didn’t know when we were going to be matched and who we were going to be matched with. So, just being patient and hopeful was important.”

Their adoption process was supported by Okey’s employer, St. Leo University. The school has a benefit program for employees who become adoptive parents, reimbursing them for adoption expenses.

“Adoption can be quite expensive, between home study fees, placement fees — all of those sorts of things. It made a huge difference in our being able to afford adoption and it was an enormous help for us,” he said.

Adoption has meant a great deal in Okey’s life, not just in the present, but in his past, too.

“My dad was adopted and that’s an important part of his story,” said Okey. “My mom’s brother is adopted, so it was part of the family history. And so, I always wanted children and I always factored in adoption as one of the ways I had hoped to become a dad.”

It’s a full-circle moment for the family of four. And even though he is still adapting to the new test of fatherhood, Okey has his own advice for those looking to go the adoption route.

“You never know what you’re going to get with a kid, you just don’t. That’s part of the excitement, joy and blessing of it, too,” he said.

A blessing he is reminded of every day.