u of t convocation

This family's reaction to their University of Toronto graduate is so heartwarming

June is typically a month for graduates and their families to celebrate, but the ongoing pandemic has cancelled live graduations across Canada.

In-person convocation ceremonies in Toronto universities this spring were cancelled —including University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson University.

But that didn’t stop one Toronto family from celebrating at home. A University of Toronto graduate posted a video of her family reacting as her name scrolls by on a screen during the virtual convocation on June 2.

The 45-second video clip shows the family waiting patiently as the names scroll by and then suddenly they shout, leap out of their seats and jump with joy. A man filming throws his phone on the floor.

Reaction to the video was equally joyful.

"The foot on the right. The bouncing. The swearing. The throwing the phone down. This is so freakin’ wholesome," said one reply to the video.

"Congratulations. In these troubling times this beautiful moment brought tears to my eyes. Thank you. Now you go on and take the world by storm!" said one person on Twitter.

Another person was also moved to tears, writing: "Ok I'm crying tears of happiness...Your parents are so proud! Congratulations on your hard work!"

"This  is the sweetest thing I've seen all day," said another person.

The video had more than 34,000 views on Twitter on June 3 and the graduate thanked everyone for their well wishes. She also reminded folks about the serious issues of the day.

"Wanted to remind everyone that Black Lives Matter and silence leads to oppression."

Lead photo by

JonaeDeF


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here's a preview of what it will be like to ride on new Toronto LRT line

There's a brand-new $26M TTC subway station entrance in a popular Toronto park

Ontario's largest snake grows up to 2 metres and squeezes prey to death

Ontario is home to world's oldest pool of water at a staggering 2 billion years old

Stunning new Toronto park set to open next year

Toronto somehow isn't home to Ontario's jankiest LRT

A Toronto transit project is actually going to finish early for once

People worried about Ontario police's plan to use facial recognition software