High school students raise money so Nigerian mom can attend her son’s U.S. graduation

Michael Tertsea has always loved basketball. As a child in Nigeria, Tertsea excelled at the sport, so when coach Tony Martin of the John Carroll School in Bel Air, Maryland, asked Tertsea to come to the United States and join his high school squad, the young baller decided to make move.

But it’s been four years since Tertsea came to John Carroll, and he hasn’t seen his mother since he left home, reports ABC 2 News. His classmates, who fondly refer to their 6’10 friend as “The Gentle Giant,” decided Tertsea’s mom should be with him for his graduation. They worked hard to raise the money for a plane ticket and visa, and when they fell just a few hundred dollars short, coaches and teachers raised the rest in under an hour.

In an interview with ABC News, Tertsea’s mother, who flew on a plane for the first time ever, was overcome with emotion.

“It’s exciting. I am so happy to be here and to see my son after four years,” she said. “It’s a good thing to be here.”

In a video, Tertsea himself can be seen wiping tears from his eyes as he walks across the school gymnasium with his arm around his mother to accept his high school diploma.

Tertsea’s adventure in the United States isn’t over yet. The Baltimore Sun reports he’ll be attending The University of Rhode Island this fall, thanks to a basketball scholarship.