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EMU Student's Bitter-Sweet Graduation Photo Is Going Viral

By @GeorgeJFox

With more than 80,000 retweets and nearly 300,000 likes in less than 24 hours this photo is tearing across the internet.

Daivon Reeder, 22 of Detroit graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Michigan University. Reeder and his friend Alonzo D. Reed were joking around and Reed took the picture. Reeder thought about their successful journey from a bumpy upbringing to graduation and the caption popped into Reeder's head. He kept thinking about how his step-dad had discouraged him from college and he took the opportunity.

The caption reads, "My step dad told me it was pointless to go to orientation, I wasn't going to graduate.....4 years later he in jail & I'm well...." Three crying laughing emojis add some levity to the bitter-sweet moment.

"The two of us were supposed to be statistics as young black men," said Reeder about himself and his friend Alonzo D. Reed who took the picture. They both work The Nation, a program mentoring elementary and middle schoolers at South Pointe Scholars in Ypsilanti.

The shot gained significant attention across Twitter and various viral news sites.

Eastern Michigan University confirmed Reeder will be walking in Saturday's commencement ceremony.

Reeder is also in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corp. and will start as a second lieutenant when he's done with school.

Hundreds of replies to the Tweet offer encouragement and applaud the young man's accomplishment not to mention the man's uncanny resemblance to current Memphis Grizzlies NBA player Vince Carter.

Reeder who has never been told he looks like Carter before doesn't see the resemblance.

A DJ for the campus radio station and various parties in his spare time Reeder will tell you his true passion is his mentoring program The Nation. "Our motto is Come wit it," added Reeder.

Will step-dad get an invite to his graduation? "I think it would be cool to send him a screenshot of this photo going viral," Reader said.

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