CMU President Delivers Diploma to Hospitalized Graduate [VIDEO]

The president of Central Michigan University personally delivered a diploma to a graduate who was recently hospitalized after being hit by a car.

CMU President Robert Davies made the nearly-150-mile journey from Mt. Pleasant to Detroit's Beaumont hospital on Friday (12/6) to present Walter Tufts II with the diploma that signifies Tufts' graduation from the university.

“Commencement is an important milestone for every student, and I didn’t want Walter to miss the opportunity to celebrate his achievement with his family and friends,” Davies said. “It was an honor and a pleasure to shake his hand today and personally confer his Bachelor of Science degree.”

Davies quipped that the presentation made Tufts the first December graduate of 2019, as the official graduation ceremony was to be held the following day.

Tufts suffered a broken leg and a torn ligament when he was struck by a car on November 18th. He tells CM-Life that he was saddened to learn that he'd be unable to walk across the stage at graduation.

“To know I was so close to graduation when the accident happened really bummed me out,” Tufts said. “But to have CMU and Royal Oak Beaumont do what they did put a lot of joy in my heart.”

The touching moment was shared in the Facebook video below.