With upcoming midterms, Wayne Hayer did not want to miss his algebra class at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
However, he also couldn’t find childcare for his 5-month-old daughter.
It was an important class and they were reviewing content for their exam, so he brought her little one along.
After explaining his dilemma, Professor Nathan Alexander offered to carry baby Assata while teaching the class so the father could take down notes. The baby was strapped to his chest as he wrote down problems on the whiteboard.
Students in the class shared photos of the incident on social media showing their lecturer carrying baby Assata. The heartwarming moment quickly went viral.
One student wrote on Twitter: “My professor NATHAN ALEXANDER said ‘I’ll hold her so you can take good notes!’” His post has been re-shared over 70,000 times.
Another student wrote on Facebook: “It was this encounter that truly showed me the power and impact HBCU’s can have for the black community, for this professor to understand that life happens and sometimes there are just no ways around it.”
The images reached Morehouse College President David Thomas, who wrote on Twitter: “This is about #love and #commitment. Loving our students and being committed to removing any barrier to their pursuit of excellence.”
Hayer, a senior majoring in kinesiology, said to CNN: “I was nervous to go to class.
“Morehouse is an all-male college and seeing me with a baby strapped to me would make all eyes be on me.”
His first class was canceled, so he and his baby stayed in the student lounge while he did his coursework. His next class is when the heartwarming moment occurred.
Alexander told CNN that Hayer “works two jobs, is a full time student, is involved in leadership programs at school and is a parent. This photo serves as a reminder of what parents have to do every day and how important it is to have affordable childcare.”
He also said that baby Assata didn’t distract the lesson. “She was really behaved and even started to fall asleep at the end. We had a bottle ready on standby, if needed. We enjoyed having her energy in class.”
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