Corey Patrick, 19, spent the entire school year waking up at 4:30 a.m. in order to make it to Tarrant High School on time.
The Alabama teen had to be at his bus stop by 5:41 a.m.. He made the same trek after school and wouldn't make it home until about 7 o'clock at night.
Corey didn't have a car, and neither did his family. They'd recently moved to another part of town before his senior year, and his new house was about 10 miles away from his school.
Determined to finish high school alongside his friends, Corey did whatever it took for him to get to class every morning. His ultimate goal was to walk at graduation.
And that's exactly what he did. Donning his full cap and gown, Corey made his usual voyage to school on graduation day. He had no clue that a passerby noticed him walking along the busy road… and the passerby had no clue that the photo of Corey would help change the determined teen's life.
After the stranger's photo of Corey went viral on social media, local radio DJ Rickey Smiley asked his fans to help identify and locate hime.
Corey became the recipient of a surprise he never saw coming.
This story first appeared on LittleThings in May 2018.
