New Mom Goes Into Labor But Insists On Donning A Cap And Gown To Receive Her Diploma.

Expecting mom Kelsey Hudie gets college degree while in labor.

After working hard for years to get a college degree, nothing on earth was going to stop Kelsey Hudie from collecting her diploma on graduation day. Not even labor!

Kelsey is a 27-year-old first-time mom who recently completed her associate’s degree in Liberal Arts at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. She was 38 weeks pregnant when she went to her doctor the day before graduation and found out the labor process had started early.

Kelsey’s doctor told her she was already a few centimeters dilated. When faced with the facts, many expectant moms would have opted to sit out graduation, but not Kelsey!

“That wasn’t going to stop me from walking across the stage,” she said. “I even said if I had her before the walk, I was just going to hold her in my arms and walk across that stage.”

Kelsey’s aunt happens to work for the college, so she let the administration know what was happening with her niece right before commencement began. School leaders told Kelsey she didn’t have to walk in order to officially graduate, but she wasn’t hearing it! Instead, the administration quickly reshuffled the order of the event to accommodate her.

“I hope you will allow me to quickly move through one degree before we do the rest of you all,” Henry Ford College President Russell A. Kavalhuna told the commencement crowd.

“When we bring people through Henry Ford College, they’ve got grit,” he continued. “They’ve got perseverance, and this student has told me, and us, ‘I’m going to walk across that stage despite the fact that I am 38 weeks pregnant. I am dilated, and I can’t wait for you, Russ, and your friends to talk for an hour-and-a-half, so I need to graduate quickly.'”

Kelsey was delighted that the college accommodated her, noting that the crowd’s reaction was so sweet that it warmed her heart.

“The crowd just went wild,” she said. “I think that put a big smile on my face. I didn’t really realize when I was walking across the stage with her in my belly that I’d be a big inspiration to others.”

A few days later, Kelsey finally gave birth to a daughter she named Nylah! She plans to go back to school to get her Bachelor’s degree so she can become a teacher. She has been working full time as a paraprofessional at an elementary school while taking classes.

That’s what we call determination! This is one mama bear who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go get it. Best of luck to Kelsey as she continues to work toward her goal of becoming a teacher.

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