This Woman Missed Graduation to Give Birth, So the College Brought Graduation to Her

Juliet Smith was set to graduate from Guilford College this past Saturday when she got a bit of a surprise the night before: she went into labor.

Smith was out to dinner with her family Friday night, all set to arrive at her commencement at 7:30 the following morning when her water broke, ABC News reports. A few minutes before midnight, she gave birth to her son, Milo, two weeks before her June 9 due date.

Smith was obviously overjoyed about her new son, but was also quite disappointed about missing graduation after working so hard to earn her degree.

“I was so mad at him,” Smith said in a release. “And then I was upset with myself, because I didn’t want my first feeling toward my first son to be anger, but I’d been so excited to be a part of commencement for so long.”

Shortly after the official commencement, a group of teachers, deans and other faculty members arrived at the hospital to conduct a special ceremony for Smith. One professor even brought a tuba and played “Pomp and Circumstance.” He also played “Happy Birthday” to the newborn, because let’s not forget that there was a baby involved in all of this.