Philadelphia high school senior goes viral after enthusiastic reaction to college acceptance

PHILADELPHIA - Great things are in store for a Germantown teen after he recently got accepted into his first-choice school and went viral after his mom captured his reaction to the exciting news. 

Seventeen-year-old Amir Staten is a senior at Germantown Friends School who recently got accepted to Morehouse College in Atlanta. After opening the email from Morehouse admissions and learning of his acceptance, he ran up his street in the rain, screaming, and jumping for joy.

"I was like, ‘Let’s go. I got in. I did it, mom,' and I just embraced her," said Amir. 

Karlynne captured her son's raw emotion in a 30-second video to share the joy with family and friends on social media. She says she never imagined it would go viral. 

"For the first time, I was lost for words, over the moon. I wanted him to just have that moment," said Karlynne. 

Now, his moment of pure joy has over 25,000 views. 

"For that video to blow up and be nothing but positive comments and positive energy all around, I think that's what made it blow up the most," said Amir. "The fact that in the world now, all we see is negative, a little good can go a long way."

Amir has been part of the community scholars program at Germantown Friends School since 8th grade. He is the captain of the basketball team, runs track, and is a student ambassador, so it's safe to say he just about does it all. Now, his hard work is paying off and his dream to go to the historical Black men's college is coming true. 

"It was a moment where I was just like, ‘I did it, all the hard work is paying off’ type of feeling," said Amir. 

Karlynne is a single mother to Amir and his twin sister, Angel. Amir and Angel say their mom has sacrificed so much so that they can live happy, healthy, and successful lives. She set up a GoFundMe to raise the $600 enrollment fee and just like Amir's reaction video, the GoFundMe took off, too. NBA star Kyrie Irving even contributed $4,200 to help support.

Amir says he can't wait to leap into the next phase of his journey at Morehouse College where he says he plans to study sociology so that he can eventually land in a career where he can help others. 

"The main thing I'm excited about is to see other Black men with the same goals I have," he said. 

To donate to Amir's GoFundMe college fund, click here.