It's graduation season, and we can't get enough of the inspiring stories that come with bedazzled mortarboards and viral diploma acceptance videos. One particularly inspiring story involves 2018 graduate Corey Patrick of Tarrant High School in Alabama. 

A photo of Patrick wearing his graduation gown quickly went viral after a bus driver posted it online. The photo didn't go viral because he decked out his mortarboard or his gown or anything like that. According to WBRC, Patrick's photo went viral because he was on his way to his graduation ceremony by bus.

Patrick's family couldn't afford transportation to the ceremony. However, Patrick was determined to celebrate the hard work he put into his high school career. 

“I was happy on that day,” Patrick said.

"I told Corey, well the best thing to do is just get on the bus and we will work from there,” recalled Felicia White, Patrick's mother.

“He’s a great young man. He’s very quiet, reserved, humble and he gets a little hardheaded sometimes, but he’s a very obedient child, and I’m proud of Corey,” his mother added.

Patrick had been taking that same walk to his local bus stop for his entire school career. He has attended Tarrant City Schools since 4th grade, and his family used to live closer to his high school. However, they had to move before his senior year. Patrick's mother wanted him to continue attending the school he'd started at so he could finish his senior year with his friends.

"Corey was getting up at 4:30 in the morning and had to be at the bus stop at 5:41 in the morning for the last year. Even when he would get out of school he couldn't get from that side of town until 5:19 when the bus runs back over there. So he doesn't make it back this way until about 6:30 or 7 o'clock,” White said.

“I had to do what was necessary for me to walk this year,” he noted.

Thankfully, Patrick's family didn't have to bus all the way to his ceremony because they were able to find a last minute ride. Further, after Patrick's story went viral, celebrities such as Rickey Smiley, Tyrese and Da Brat announced they were banding together to purchase the new graduate a new car! 

Dope!

TSR Staff: Kyle Anfernee Instagram: @Kyle.Anfernee Earlier, we posted about a young man who was photographed walking to a bus stop to get to his graduation. The photo was posted online, and has since gone viral across the nation. ___________________________________ A lot of people, including myself, wanted to know who this amazing young man in the photo was, and after a couple thousand shares, he has been identified as Corey Patrick, a 2018 graduate from Tarrant High School. ___________________________________ “I was happy on that day,” Corey said. ___________________________________ Corey spoke with Fox 6 News and said that his family didn’t have the transportation to get him there, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. ___________________________________ “I told Corey, well the best thing to do is just get on the bus and we will work from there,” Corey’s mother Felicia White said. ___________________________________ His family was able to eventually find a ride to his graduation. ___________________________________ “He’s a great young man. He’s very quiet, reserved, humble and he gets a little hardheaded sometimes, but he’s a very obedient child and I’m proud of Corey,” Felicia said . What makes this story even more powerful is the fact Corey has been making that walk to the bus stop pretty much his whole senior year ___________________________________ “I had to do what was necessary for me to walk this year,” he said. ___________________________________ He recently moved to West End after attending Tarrant City Schools since 4th grade. His mom said he wanted to finish his senior year up with his friends. ___________________________________ "Corey was getting up at 4:30 in the morning and had to be at the bus stop at 5:41 in the morning for the last year. Even when—Read More At TheShadeRoom.com
A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on May 24, 2018 at 9:37am PDT

White said she is overwhelmed by the love and support shown to her son and their family. 

“I would just like to say thank you to everyone who is supporting Corey and supporting me, and I really appreciate it,” White said.

Congrats to Corey Patrick; we're all proud of you!