Everyone loves a tear-jerking graduation viral video. But the COVID-19 era has lent another layer to them this year.
Take this heart-tugging clip of nursing student Emily Rose Booth, getting her degree from Endicott College during the graduation ceremony at Hempstead Stadium in Massachusetts on May 22.
As she’s called up from the line, Emily is taken aback as the school president puts up the “hold on” finger before giving her the diploma. She looks a little confused, until the off-camera announcer says, “Here, to assist in handing Emily her diploma is Private First Class…”
A loud surge of cheering rises up as Emily falls into the embrace of her brother, Private First Class Ryan Booth.
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The Private left for bootcamp last summer, but has since been unable to return home or see his family at all due to COVID-19 restrictions. So as expected, the hugs are huge. The shocked sister nearly stumbles and breaks off one of the high heels on her shoes.
When she finally steps back, her smile from the whole surprise is enormous. We assume her brother’s was too, but he was wearing his mask. That’s a Marine for you -- always following orders.
So much cheering, clapping, and tear-wiping was going on during the unexpected sibling reunion that the announcer never gets Private Booth’s whole name out until the two finally walk off the stage.
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The pair’s father, Stamford Police Department Sgt. Jeffrey Booth, told local media the college went “above and beyond” to pull off the surprise.
“It was actually the school’s idea to bring him up on stage… We talked to the school to see if he [Ryan] could be on school property because they only were allowing a certain amount of people per student,” he said. “We planned to have him surprise Emily after the graduation while we were taking pictures.”
Looks like Private First Class Booth went above and beyond the call of duty.
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