As his youngest daughter enthusiastically (and unintentionally) knocked him down while receiving her diploma, Clemson University President Jim Clements witnessed a moment of joy.
On Thursday, May 8, kids from the ClemsonLIFE program, which serves children with intellectual impairments, walked the stage.
Grace Clements rushed into her father’s arms as she went up to get her graduation from the South Carolina university, and both of them toppled over, smiling with happiness.
“ClemsonLIFE teaches independence, job skills…and apparently, how to sack a university president,” the official Clemson president Instagram account captioned the uplifting video.
The hashtags “#DadDown #BestGraduationEver #AmazingGrace” have been added to the post.
“Is there a limit to how many times you can see a video?! This is the most incredible Grace/Daddy (aka Pres Clements) moment I’ve ever witnessed! It’ll go down in Clemson history. Congratulations, Grace. God bless you, Mother and Father! God is good. 😭🧡💜,” one individual wrote.
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Another person said, “This is why I adore my school. This was a father-daughter moment, not her and the president. What a wonderful time. I adore how he handled it and how proud he is! 🧡💜.”
Following the viral success of the video, Clements shared with Today that “She graced the stage, and I took the stage.” I wouldn’t change anything. “It was pure joy.”
Clemson University’s website states that the ClemsonLIFE program “prepares young men and women with intellectual disabilities for competitive employment and independent living through a combination of academic coursework and career exploration.”
It was created to help “students seeking a post-secondary experience on a college campus.” Our curriculum combines functional academics, independent living, work, and social/leisure skills in a public university context, intending to develop self-sufficient young people.”
In a statement to Today, the school stated, “For all of our Clemson students, graduation is a new beginning, and seeing Grace embrace her dad — our university president—embodied the moment of exhilaration felt by each of our 5,270 new Clemson alums as they begin the next chapter of their lives.”