Debra Solomon thought of no other present that would make her mother happier than being reunited with her best kindergarten friend,

even after many years had passed. Karen Solomon, who had retired from teaching after 27 years of service, was scheduled to celebrate her 80th birthday in April.

Her daughter came up with a brilliant proposal, but it seemed unlikely to succeed. ‘The only gift I could think of for my mom was a reunion with her favorite kindergarten student from her time teaching at Verona,

New Jersey’s Laning Ave School in the 1980s.’Using Seyi Fayanju’s faculty page at Stanford University, where he currently works as a doctor,

she was able to get in contact with him after searching for him online. Despite his hectic schedule as a doctor in Palo Alto,

California, Seyi was hoping he might be able to make it to the reunion, which was fortunately scheduled to take place in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
He also has some close friends and family in nearby Chicago.

‘Lucky for me, I was returning from an East Coast conference that week,so a Wisconsin stop was added to the schedule!’ he exclaimed to GNN.

‘He provided my mother with an experience of a lifetime,’ Debra wrote in an email to GNN. When it was appropriate,

Seyi was led by her granddaughter Mira to enter the doorway and take a position just behind Mrs. Solomon.

When her daughter inquired about former classmates from earlier classes, Seyi appeared from behind.

According to Debra, ‘My mom jumped for joy when he appeared.’ ‘Everyone in the room was crying—happy, loving tears.

‘Mrs. Solomon cried, I started crying, and everyone was happy,’ Seyi remarked. ‘Mrs. Solomon was an amazing friend, mentor, and teacher to my family.

She taught us the standard curriculum when we moved to Verona, New Jersey in the late 1980s, but she also set an example of compassion and empathy for all the children in her kindergarten classes.

We originated in radically dissimilar cultures. African Americans and Latinos made up the majority of the student body at my Newark school, where my parents are immigrants from Nigeria.

I gained a great deal of knowledge about her culture because I had never met anyone who observed Hannukah.

I believe it made me more curious to study about different civilizations, which ignited a passion for geography and history that has lasted a lifetime.

Even after his family moved and Mrs. Solomon retired, he remained in contact with her over the years.

He wrote her an email to say hello and to thank her for her advice during his first week of college. (She also taught arithmetic to him in the third grade.)

How is Mrs. Solomon doing during the pandemic, his father enquired?He attempted sending her an email despite his fear that it might bounce, and they were able to video talk.

‘She even donned a bracelet my parents had gifted her as a thank-you gift back in the 1990s.’ Seyi recalls how much he ‘loved getting postcards from her every summer from cool places like San Diego and San Antonio…

I still have them somewhere in my parents’ house.’ Mrs. Solomon was a travel enthusiast. Meeting her relatives and the many guests

from her retirement complex was a wonderful experience. My father in New Jersey said hello and congrats over the phone when I called him.

I am very happy to have been a part of this special occasion for her. It was such a magical afternoon.’

I consider myself fortunate to have had excellent instruction throughout my life, and I regret that some of those wonderful teachers passed away before I had the chance to express my gratitude.

‘I believe that people should make the effort to get in touch with the instructors, coaches, and mentors who helped them become better versions of themselves, if they are able to do so.’

Thanking her daughters, Mrs. Solomon said she would never forget the amazing unexpected reunion, especially because the person she saw there happened to be her best friend.