Annabelle didn’t wait for the date on the calendar.
Grace Szymchack, then 24 years old and a teacher in Traverse City, Michigan, had everything planned: a C-section on December 18, 2023, and graduation on the 15th. But her daughter decided to arrive on the 6th, nearly two weeks early. Only 5% of babies are born on their exact due date, and Annabelle was no exception.
At 10 days old, the baby crossed the stage at the University of Michigan wrapped in her mother’s graduation gown, calm amid the applause of more than 400 graduates. Szymchack, who is already the mother of Isabelle with her husband Caleb, earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education magna cum laude. “I had worked very hard to earn this degree and was determined to graduate with the rest of my class”, she said. Today, she teaches 3-year-olds at a public daycare and says that working with the youngest children is what she likes most.
