This Dad Couldn’t Be Prouder Of His Daughter With Down Syndrome Who Has Just Earned Bachelor Of Fine Art Degree

Although many official graduation ceremonies this year have been canceled due to the complex situation of coronavirus, it could not prevent parents from celebrating their kids’ success. You can see some parents congratulate the graduates via Zoom chat, others replicate graduation ceremonies at home. There are also parents who announce the news on social media to acknowledge their kids’ achievements. And some go viral for it.

Jay Handlin recently became one such proud parent. His daughter Rachel has just earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography & Media from the California Institute of the Arts. And his post has received millions of positive comments and shares. We all admire what he and his daughter has gone so far.

To commemorate the moment, he shares the news on his Twitter account. “I am officially the proudest father on the planet,” he said. The tweet has since reached over 220k likes and 19k retweets.

Jay has a lot to be proud of, as Rachel’s achievement is not an ordinary one. The young woman has Down syndrome but beats her odd, she has achieved her goals. Her father has been sharing her progress with snippets of Rachel’s photography to showcase her talent. 

According to the Pediatric Therapy Network, out of the Down syndrome population, only one person in a million successfully completes a higher degree program.