One of the hardest things about this quarantine and everything shutting down has been watching our seniors miss some of the best moments of senior year. Many graduations are completely canceled which is so devastating to hear. However, this one dad builds a stage in his backyard for his daughter’s graduation. Now she will have the most special graduation ever, thanks to her dad.
Gabrielle Pierce
Gabrielle Pierce, from Memphis Tennesse, was a senior in college. She was supposed to have a graduation ceremony as she completed her bachelor’s degree from Xavier University in New Orleans.
She was devastated when she found out her graduation was canceled due to this pandemic. When her father, Torrence Burson, saw his daughter in tears over this, he decided to do something about it.
In his driveway, he built a stage so he could give his daughter a graduation ceremony.
Graduation Day
On her graduation day, Gabrielle was able to walk across the stage and receive her diploma. As she walked across the stage, they loudly played, “Pomp and Circumstance” on speakers.
Some of her neighbors came over at a safe distance to walk her walk across the stage. Other family and friends drove by and cheered her on as well.
On the program, it shared that Gabrielle graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public health science for epidemiology. She plans to join the Armed Forces and hopes to one day work for the Centers for Disease Control.
The Response
One neighbor, @negasibear86, shared the stage set-up on Instagram and said, “My next-door neighbor’s daughter couldn’t have her official graduation due to the pandemic so he created one for her! Now that’s a great/proud father for you. He made it happen!”
Her dad shared with Fox 13 Memphis, “We love our daughter this much. If I had to do this over again, I’d probably do it even bigger.”
Gabrielle also shared her response, “I was in awe. I was amazed. I couldn’t believe a lot of people showed up. People were driving by yelling congratulations. It was amazing. Better than the actual graduation, because it was more personal.”
Her brother also shared a video of the graduation and shared all about how his dad went all out for his sister’s graduation.
What an incredible dad who builds a stage for his daughter’s graduation. It is a way to make this special day more memorable due to this pandemic.
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