This Student Invited Her Middle School Teacher to Her Harvard Graduation

As any student knows, teachers can make a seriously memorable mark on the lives of their pupils. Whether making a classroom laugh, standing up for what's right, or creating an IRL version of Hogwarts, educators are often working hard. One recent graduate wanted to show their appreciation for a teacher, and waited 21 years to invite a former educator to their graduation.

In 1997, Christin Gilmer, who was in sixth grade at the time, received a note from her teacher Judith Toensing that asked Christin to invite her when she graduated from Harvard, CNN reported. Judith might have just been speculating at the time, but more than 21 years later Christin has graduated from Harvard, and of course she invited "Mrs. Toensing."

In a post on her personal Facebook, the recent Harvard graduate shared the note and personally thanked Judith for teaching her "about current events, global health, and human rights." "She was the first person who passionately conveyed the plight of people living with HIV/AIDS to me and started me on this journey," she wrote on Facebook. "In a picture I still carry around, she told me on the last day of school that year that she would see me at my Harvard graduation, and now I can finally invite her (21 years later) and try to show her how grateful I am to her."

Christin explained why she kept the letter in an interview with Teen Vogue, saying: "It meant so much to me. To know that someone who spent eight hours a day with me in the classroom, after school with Student Government and our Current Events team and other extracurricular activities, and knew me so intimately well had no doubt that I could obtain the future I desired for myself was one of the biggest gifts I have received. To this day, when I'm having bad anxiety or questioning my own ability to help people or solve a complex problem, I remember all the difficulties she has been through in her life and how gracefully she navigated those challenges while still putting her students first."

CNN reports that Harvard caught wind of the note and personally invited Judith to attend the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's convocation. The middle school instructor even received a nod of recognition during the ceremony and was included in a speech from Harvard Dean Michelle Williams.

Judith shared with CNN how "humbled" she was by the experience, saying: "I have high expectations of all my students, so to hear that Christin had achieved this goal did not surprise me in the least. I feel honored that Harvard chose to tell Christin's story, her journey, and that I was a small part of that journey."

Wherever life may take Christin next she told Teen Vogue that she won't ever forget the impact of her former sixth grade teacher. "Because of Ms. Toensing, I have become a lifelong activist, an ardent supporter of political movements we are seeing thrive today specifically because of teenage activism that is going to change the world, and I am learning to be the person a girl like me needed when I was younger," she said. "I hope I can help other young women realize that their power is limitless, too, and that so many tools of change are at their fingertips, starting with education in any way you can get it."

Let us slide into your DMs. Sign up for the Teen Vogue daily email.

Related: I’m Sobbing Over This Graduate's Social Media Tribute to Her Mom