Valedictorian Pops the Question During Speech
College graduation is a pretty memorable occasion for most of us, even more-so if you happen to be valedictorian.
Emily Hawley decided to make her speech completely unforgettable yesterday at New Jersey's Centenary College, for her classmates and her longtime boyfriend.
Hawley and her fiancé Josh Walker, both natives of Fryeburg, Maine, joined Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith to share their lovely story.
Like a scene from a movie, Hawley made the grand proposal right after her commencement speech. She called Walker, whom she has dated for seven years, to the stage and proposed.
"I'm sorry to be wasting everyone's time today doing this. But it's something I think that's kind of fitting. I like to consider us as Mr. and Mrs. Centenary. So here before you all, I just wanted to say, 'Josh, I love you more than everything. Will you marry me?'" Hawley said.
When Hawley's speech was approved, she asked for permission to add in the proposal at the end. The college's faculty gave her the green light.
"I really think this would be fun, a good memory," she told the faculty.
With friends and family all in attendance, there wasn't a better time to do it.
"Everybody was crying screaming, tears of joy," she added.
"I was thrilled," Walker said. "As a guy, this is great; this is one less thing to plan!"
Academically the two were on the same playing field, but Hawley narrowly beat out Walker in becoming valedictorian. She had a 4.0 GPA and he had a 3.99, which was the second-highest GPA in the class.
The happy couple hasn't set a date just yet.
Watch the graduates' touching story unfold below.