Officer attends graduation of girl he saved from fire 18 years ago

Josibel Aponte graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday, and she wouldn't have been there without officer Peter Getz.

Eighteen years ago, Getz carried 5-year-old Aponte to safety when her uncle's Hartford, Connecticut apartment building caught fire. When the two emerged from the blaze, Aponte was unresponsive — but Getz's efficient CPR helped her breathe again by the time they reached the hospital.

The two have kept in touch throughout the years. Getz, who has two daughters of his own, followed Aponte's progress through school after the fire. "Just to make sure she was doing well," he told local news sources.

And Aponte, who goes by Josi, never forgot the day Getz saved her life. "I almost died, but I was given a second chance at life," she said. 

So on Aponte's graduation day, Getz was proudly in attendance — and they took another, far happier photo together.

“There are only a few moments that are so important in life,” Aponte told the Hartford Courant. “I wanted to share my graduation with everyone who’s important to me, who have been there for me, and who helped me through tough times.

Power outage forced students to graduate in the glow of their cellphones

Graduation is supposed to be a special moment in the spotlight for high schoolers, but at Georgia's Winder-Barrow High School Thursday's ceremony was exactly the opposite after a blown transformer left students to graduate in the dark. 

Students and family members quickly took to social media to share photos and videos of the ceremony, which took place outdoors on the high school's football field, where cellphones lit up the event like a concert after the outage. 

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Carrie Clardy ‎@kryptogal

First class to graduate in the dark? This class continues to break new ground.  (Excuse the screaming )

6:18 AM - 20 May 2016 · Winder, GA, United States

 
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In one video, Winder-Barrow High School principal Al Darby can be heard declaring that the graduation would go on in the dark. 

"Our thought is, we're going to continue to call names," Darby said as the crowd erupted in cheers. "And I never thought I'd say this as the principal of Winder-Barrow High School, but thank goodness for cellphones." 

The power outage apparently occurred after balloons flew too close to the transformer, several attendees wrote on social media. 

One attendee reported the graduating class size was about 400 students, and judging by the fact that one video of the outage starts with last names in the C's, it doesn't seem many students were able to walk before the transformer blew. 

Understandably, not everyone was thrilled about the graduates receiving their diplomas in the dark. 

At least Winder-Barrow's Class of 2016 can be certain they went out of high school with a bang.