When a young New Yorker missed his Hunter College graduation Tuesday because of subway problems, a few resourceful straphangers stepped in with a makeshift ceremony.
Jericho Marco Alcantara was on his way to Hunter College's Brookdale campus, eager to receive his degree from the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, when his E train stopped between stations in Queens, according to multiple reports.
Alcantara had had the opportunity to go to the main commencement ceremony later in the afternoon at Radio City Music Hall, but told New York Magazine students were only permitted two tickets -- and he wanted more of his friends and family there for his special day.
One of Alcantara's friends who accompanied him on the journey told Gothamist the grad left from Jackson Heights at 8:20 a.m. to make sure he would get to the East 25th Street campus by 10 a.m. Then the the train stalled -- multiple reports say passengers were told someone pulled the emergency brake. It turned into an hours-long delay, they said.
"I was on track to be at my commencement at 9:15 a.m., but the delays altogether ended up taking almost three hours,” Alcantara told New York Magazine. "After 45 minutes, I knew I was already late, but I kept hoping that I’d at least make it to walking the stage."
He didn't. But he was wearing his cap and gown, and strangers stepped up to make sure he got his special moment. A friend gave him a virtual "diploma," drawing one on his cellphone, while someone else pulled out some speakers and queued up some nostalgic music. Another rider, Nadiya Afzal, videotaped the ceremony and posted it to Facebook, where it immediately went viral.
The video shows Alcantara going around hugging people as most people in his car join in the fun, despite being stuck on the train for so long. It had more than 1 million views and nearly 7,900 shares in 21 hours.
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