A group of college students organized an emotional goodbye for their college professor this semester.
Katherine De Oliveira, a sophomore at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), said she and her fellow classmates wanted to thank their statistics professor Adam Shrager for his kindness.
On Dec. 2, De Oliveira and 30 other students turned on their Zoom cameras in unison, revealing handwritten signs and heart-warming messages.
"Oh wow. That's like the nicest thing ever!" Shrager can be heard saying in the video. "You guys freaking rock."
De Oliveira said Shrager is beloved by his students who met twice a week remotely due to the pandemic.
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♬ original sound - James Blake
She said Shrager created a "safe and positive" classroom environment. He is the type of teacher who would ask to be introduced to the family member seen in the background of a student's Zoom video, she added.
"His reaction is what makes the video," De Oliveira, 20, a mathematics education major, told "Good Morning America." "It completely dominated [the video]. It's so beautiful."
In response to the sweet gesture, which was captured on video and shared on TikTok where it was viewed by millions, Shrager said that he is overwhelmed by it all.
"It was beautiful and they did a beautiful job," said Shrager. "People are just writing me these beautiful messages and these students just genuinely released something beautiful in the world when I think educators needed it badly -- it just resonated. I'm completely blown away."
De Oliveira said Shrager has made his own TikTok account so he can reply to commenters from around the world.
