Jerich Alcantara, a nursing graduate at Hunter College, got an impromptu mock graduation ceremony after he was stuck on the train due to delays. (Fox 5 DC)
A Hunter College student missed his graduation Tuesday morning because of New York City train delays, but a few commuters came up with their own impromptu ceremony so he didn't miss that special moment.
Jerich Alcantara was on the E train traveling from Queens to his graduation ceremony that was scheduled for 10 a.m. at the college's Brookdale campus in Manhattan, Fox 5 NY reported. He was dressed in his purple cap and gown, but around 9 a.m. the train got stuck in the tunnel for more than three hours.
ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS' PAPER TOSS GOES VIRAL
"The train's emergency brakes went off and they couldn't fix it for an hour and a half," Alcantara told Fox 5 NY. "So after that, they called rescue trains to pick us up and those didn't show up for another 20 or 30 minutes."
Alcantara didn't walk across the stage — a moment many graduates look forward to.
"I announced to the whole train I said 'Hey guys, thanks for coming out today to see me walk and graduate,'" he recalled.
Straphangers looked at the graduate and couldn't bear to see him miss his graduation, so they came up with their own ceremony.
"We got my buddy to hand me the diploma that he drew up on his phone and he handed it to me shook my hand like he was the dean, it was great," Alcantara said, adding that another rider played music through a portable speaker he happened to have in his backpack.
NAVY DAD SURPRISES DAUGHTER AT GEORGIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADUATION
His friends also threw him another "ceremony" when he finally got to the venue.
"And they played some music for me there as well," he said. "They had me walk down the center aisle, walk across the stage just as if I was doing graduation with them."
The president of Hunter College told the news station that she looks forward to personally handing Alcantara his diploma.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
