Student Goes Viral After Bringing Life-Size Cutout Of His Late Mother to Graduation Ceremony

In a tweet that went viral earlier this week, Filipino graduate Paulo John posted photos of himself posing in his graduation robes alongside a cutout of his mother. Paulo’s tweet, which has garnered over 4,600 retweets since it was posted on Tuesday (16th July), translates,

“To my most beautiful mother! Ma, your eldest has graduated I hope you’re happy in the presence of God. I finished school because this is what you wanted. I love you very much.”

SA PINAKA MAGANDA KONG NANAY! MA, GRADUATE NA PANGANAY MO SANA HAPPY KA JAN SA PILING NI GOD. ITO ANG GUSTO MO KAYA TINAPOS KO. MAHAL NA MAHAL KITA. ??

ALINSOG, PAULO JOHN
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Business Management
SANA CUM LAUDE pic.twitter.com/FxVmXUZQ1K

— Paulo John (@paudaexplorer) July 16, 2019

The tweet was met with thousands of comments from netizens who were touched by Paulo’s love for his late mother.

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Paulo, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, told Coconuts Manila that it was his dream to graduate with his mother by his side. However, she sadly passed away in 2016 due to complications from pneumonia. He told the news portal,

“I had that standee made so that I could at least feel my mum’s presence on graduation day because my graduation from college was our dream.”

Paulo was very specific with his requests to the company that made the styrofoam cutout for him, instructing them to make sure that it measured to 5 feet and 2 inches (approx 157cm) to match the height of his mother.

He brought the cutout to his graduation ceremony as a way to pay tribute to his mother, saying,

“She was a single parent [for a few years]. She sent me to private schools. And we were very close to each other. My mother didn’t ask my stepfather to send me to college. All of the money came from her and my aunts who helped out.”

“When I brought it (the cutout) to my graduation, I was so happy because I really felt I was with my mum.”

While it’s certainly a tough loss to deal with, we’re proud of Paulo for successfully earning his degree and honoured his mother in this way!

Also read: M’sian Woman Takes Tearful Family Portrait In Graduation Robe With Deceased Mother