A young lady in Georgia will attend the college of her dreams, but not without a lot of hard work and some tears along the way.
Some of those tears were shed when her mother passed away nearly five years ago. That s why Skylar Hughes wanted to share this momentous occasion with her mom, Rasheda Hughes, who died when Skylar was just in seventh grade.
Last month, Skylar brought her laptop to her mom s gravesite, where she found out she had been accepted to Duke University.
Skylar said mom shared in the joy, too. I knew that since my mother had missed a lot of things with me in my childhood, growing up, and since this was mobile, I could take my computer to open the email anywhere, I knew I wanted to do it with her, Hughes told Good Morning America. I thought whether I get accepted or denied, I wanted to share this moment with her because I knew it would be filled with emotion.
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Photo: (Photo : Unsplash/Solen Feyissa)
A 17-year-old opens her college acceptance email in front of mom s grave. Since her mother had missed so many things that she has done, she wanted to share the special moment with her mom whether she gets in or not.
In 2016, Skylar Hughes lost her mom, Rasheda Hughes, on her last day of seventh grade. She had imagined that opening an acceptance email would determine her future, so she planned to share the moment with her late mom.
Her mom missed a lot of things while she was growing up
Hughes told Good Morning America that her mother had missed many things when she was in her childhood and while growing up. Since she could bring her laptop everywhere, she knew she wanted to do it with her.
Skylar Hughes opens her Duke acceptance letter at her mom's gravesite. Skylar Hughes was 11 years old when her mom, Rasheda Hughes , suffered a brain aneurysm
Like many high school seniors, Skylar Hughesâ plate is full just about every day.
In addition to maintaining a 4.1 grade-point average at Grayson High School, Hughes has two part-time jobs and an internship at the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary. She also has a considerable community service background, most notably with the DoSomething Club, which facilitates community-wide initiatives regarding mental health awareness and Black Lives Matter issues.
Suffice it to say, when nighttime rolls around, Hughes generally has no trouble getting to sleep. But on a recent Friday night, she found herself wide awake for long stretches as she had received an online notice about the status of her application to Duke University and wanted to wait until Saturday morning, so she could share the news with her late mother, Rasheda Hughes, who died in 2016.