The news can be an emotionally dark place and so it’s important to remember that most of the world is made up of heroic people doing heroic things and loving one another in the face of great adversity. On Tuesday, Chapman University in Southern California had a graduation. Marty O’Connor was there to receive his master’s of business administration degree. This is a huge achievement for the 29-year-old Marty O’Connor.
Just five years ago, O’Connor (MBA ’17) was a young salesman for packaging industry firm TricorBraun, traveling internationally and “making great strides, at the apogee of my career,” he said.
A fall down a flight of stairs on Aug. 12, 2012, changed all that, leaving him a quadriplegic.
According to the Chapman University blog, Marty’s mother Judy, a retired elementary school teacher, moved from Florida to help her son attend classes at Chapman—taking notes and getting him from class to class.
“I’m a geek. I love being in school,” she said. “I’m not going to lie. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
On Tuesday, Judy O’Connor was surprised by the school to receive her own honorary MBA from Chapman—something Marty had secretly suggested to the administration.
Judy O'Connor, a retired elementary school teacher, pushed her son, Marty, in his wheelchair for him to receive his degree during commencement Saturday in Orange.
Then a choked-up graduation announcer said the school's faculty, administrators and board of trustees had decided to give her an MBA. The idea for the surprise honorary degree came from her son.
A stunned but composed Judy O'Conner blew a kiss to the crowd giving her a standing ovation.
You can watch the video below, but being California, and with all of the rain we’ve had this past winter, the allergies out here are terrible so you might want tissue. But it is a beautiful moment of triumph and recognition that one southern Californian community got to share these past couple of years, and now we all get to share.