“When I took my 3-year-old son Julian onstage to see my master’s hooding, I did not realize Dean Jamal would ask if he wanted to help hood me,” the mom said.
A recent graduation ceremony turned out to be an extra memorable experience for a New Jersey mother, who celebrated getting her master’s degree with the help of her adorable 3-year-old son.
Journalist Natasha S. Alford, 37, has a lot on her plate, but she still made the commitment to earn her master’s degree in public policy from Princeton University. When it came time to celebrate her graduation, her son presented her with her master’s hood onstage — and the cute moment, which was posted on TikTok, quickly went viral.
“When I took my 3-year-old son Julian onstage to see my master’s hooding, I did not realize Dean Jamal would ask if he wanted to help hood me,” she captioned the post. “Of course, everything I’ve been holding came to the surface because doing graduate school as a mother to a young child was a different kind of experience. When I was not studying, I was running back to him to play trucks and build towers with blocks.”
“His father had to constantly push me to get on to class and not worry because all would be fine, and he was right,” she added. “This was truly the best year for our family.”
She went on to thank the school’s dean for letting parents “bring their children to celebrate this milestone.”
“It’s a moment I will never forget and a moment I pray he looks to whenever he needs it,” she wrote, ending the post with a special message for her baby boy. “This is for you my dear son — you can achieve whatever has been placed in your heart and mind because greatness is already within you!”
While speaking with Good Morning America, Alford said she decided to share the moment on social media as an inspiration for others, specifically mothers.
“I wanted people to see that mothers and sons – we have a special relationship. But also mothers can be high achievers,” she said. “They can have goals outside of the home, outside of motherhood and there’s room for all of that.”
In a statement to the media, Princeton Dean Amaney Jamal spoke about how family often plays a key role in the educational experience.
“A hallmark of Princeton SPIA is its true sense of community, where we embrace each and every person‘s constitutive roles and identities, parents included! Our students often make significant sacrifices to pursue their dreams, but they are never alone in their journey,” Jamal said. “With unwavering support from our dedicated faculty, compassionate staff, and fellow students, we have created a close-knit network that stands together through every challenge and triumph.”
Alford also told Good Morning America that when it comes to her son, she hopes she’ll be able to return the favor one day.
“I hope that one day I’ll be able to be at his hooding ceremony and watch him get hooded,” she said.
