College Valedictorian Emily Hawley Proposes to Boyfriend in Speech

Emily Hawley, the valedictorian of Centenary College, proposed to her boyfriend in her graduation speech.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on May 24 2010

Emily Hawley graduated as the valedictorian from Cenenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey—closely followed by her boyfriend, Josh Walker, who’d missed out by a single A-minus during his college career.

As valedictorian, Emily was asked to give a speech to her graduating class. But, because Josh had given her so much support over the years, she thought that it was only fitting that he should come and join her on the stage. And once he arrived, Emily had a question for him.

“Will you marry me?” she asked the surprised salutatorian. Emily didn’t have a ring or get down on one knee. She figured that the proposal was “nontraditional enough,” she told the Daily Record.

Josh immediately answered yes, and the couple embraced to loud cheering and applause from the audience.

Josh and Emily have been together for seven years, and were high school sweethearts. Now that they’ve finished college together, they plan to remain in New Jersey; Emily, who got a degree in equine studies, will train horses, and Josh plans to become a teacher. But before doing any wedding planning, they’ll probably need to burn off some steam from all those years of studying.

“It’s been a big day,” said Josh.

Check out the wonderful video of Emily’s proposal.

Filed under: General Interest, Weird,

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