Professor holds boy, keeps teaching when single mom brings son to class

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WKRN – NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A single mother and student in Nashville had to bring her son to school with her, and the understanding she received was more than she could've asked for.

Amanda Osbon studies at DeVry University, located in south Nashville, and didn't have a choice but to take her son to class on Monday.

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Amanda Osbon and her son, Xzavier (Photo: WKRN)

"I was embarrassed. I had to swallow my pride and bring my kid to class," Osbon said on Wednesday.

But she noted that school is like a job. "You can't miss work, so you can't miss school."

Osbon said her son, who is almost 2 years old, got up during class and wanted to be held by the professor.

Professor Joel Bunkowske, who Osbon says "was amazing, patient and kind," didn't skip a beat.

He picked up little Xzavier and continued to teach his class.

"That made me literally start crying. I broke down. My classmates started hugging me," Osbon said. "He went up to my professor and put his little arms up like that and without missing a beat my professor picked him up and kept teaching, and it was amazing to see that."

Bunkowske, a local lawyer who teaches at DeVry's Keller Graduate School of Management, said picking up Xzavier was natural.

"He came and he just help up his hands and looked at me with those eyes," he said.

Bunkowske said Osbon is "the best," a 4.0 student. He says that if someone wants an education, nothing should stand in their way.

"If you're going to miss class because you don't have a babysitter, I'd much rather let's find a way to accommodate that for adult working people."

Osbon said she shared her story because she just wanted something good to come of the situation.

"My professor deserves all the praise in the world. He's an amazing person; he's just wonderful," she explained.

She also said her unwavering hard work is because she wants to give little Xzavier what she never had growing up.

Osbon and Bunkowske's story has now gone viral, reaching millions of people across the country since it was posted earlier this week.

Presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton shared it on her own Facebook page after the story began to trend on Facebook.