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College professor goes viral for caring for a student’s daughter during class

Teachers, take note.

Photo of Samira Sadeque

Samira Sadeque

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A college professor in Georgia is going viral for holding the baby of a student who couldn’t find a caretaker for his child during class time.

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Dr. Nathan Alexander of Morehouse College in Atlanta, reportedly said, “I’ll hold her so you can take good notes!” to a student who showed up to class with his baby.

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The student, since identified as Wayne Hayer, had to bring his daughter Assata to class on Friday because he couldn’t find a caretaker for her. 

According to a follow-up post by his wife Firda Amalia Hayer, Wayne works two jobs and is also a full-time student. According to his Facebook, he studies Kinesiology and Physical Education at Morehouse College, an all-male historically Black college.

Alexander, a mathematics professor, reportedly held Assata for nearly an hour during class, and for several minutes after as he answered questions from students, according to BuzzFeed.

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He told BuzzFeed he was nervous about taking care of Assata. “I was worried that she would start crying,” he said. “But it actually went perfectly. She was extremely well-behaved.”

He reportedly told Hayer a few weeks ago that he could bring his daughter in whenever he needed to.

In her post on Facebook, Firda Amalia shared their struggles while thanking Alexander for his compassion.

“Anyone who is and has been a new mommy understands how overwhelming it can get,” she wrote. “Thank you for encouraging us to continue to push forward. Thank you to black educators like Dr. Nathan Alexander for your compassion and understanding. This came at the right time.”

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Firda Amalia Hayer/Facebook

Parenting while being a student can have its share of struggles, and the incident resonated with many:

“I don’t know y’all but I am a student who is a pregnant mommy and I know how challenging it can be having a newborn,” wrote one user on Hayer’s Facebook post. “You all have a beautiful family and in the midst of my up and down emotions this really brought tears to my eyes.”

Twitter users shared their own stories of parenting while still in school, too.

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https://twitter.com/Senterstage/status/1101616496562892804

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Even director Ava DuVernay weighted in.

https://twitter.com/ava/status/1101940254611664896

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H/T BuzzFeed

 
The Daily Dot