© 2026 ABC News

\"My grandpa is always smiling. To see him cry… I don't have words for that,\" Ebrahimi said.

She said it made her think, \"'Wow. I really did make him proud.' I was so thankful for be able to share that with him.\"

\"PHOTO:
Vana Ebrahimi
PHOTO: Vana Ebrahimi with her grandfather Hayrik Abnous.
>

For Ebrahimi, it was more than a moment of celebration for her and her brother. It was also a moment to thank their family for all that they'd done to get them there.

\"Coming to this country was a tough time for them. It's nice to feel like we did our part and this is our thank you to them for doing theirs for us,\" Ebrahmim said. \"You hear all the stories about their struggles and it's like we did this. Not just me and my brother…my parents, my grandparents, my family.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Living/generation-students-visit-grandfather-nursing-home-cap-gowns/story?id=70818826","legacySlug":"/living/story/generation-students-visit-grandfather-nursing-home-cap-gowns-70818826","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"21:09","publishDate":"05-22-2020","updatedTime":"17:30","updatedDate":"05-26-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Hayrik Abnous, 86, burst into tears seeing his grandchildren in their graduation robes outside his nursing home window.","credit":"Vana Ebrahimi","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/200520_gradmain_ca_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"5/22/2020 21:09:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":70818826,"headline":"Siblings visit grandfather in cap and gowns ","mediaAssetTitle":"GRANDPA GRADUATION VISIT","description":"The siblings earned law and medical degrees in the class of 2020.","duration":"0:46","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200522_gma_digital_first_gen_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["70367904","70462796","70744709"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"April 28, 2020","headline":"Grandma in isolation sees granddaughter through glass door on wedding day","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/grandma-isolation-sees-granddaughter-glass-door-wedding-day-70367904","id":70367904,"image":{"alt":"Grandma in isolation sees granddaughter through glass door on wedding day","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/20200428shaunaandtravis_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Shauna Varner","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 4, 2020","headline":"Dressed in cap-and-gown, a teacher delivers signs to high school seniors' yards","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/dressed-cap-gown-teacher-delivers-signs-high-school-70462796","id":70462796,"image":{"alt":"Dressed in cap-and-gown, a teacher delivers signs to high school seniors' yards","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/kathleen-durkin-01-ht-jef-200501_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Kathleen Durkin","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 18, 2020","headline":"Twins accepted to 38 colleges with $1M in scholarships hope to become nurses","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/twins-accepted-38-colleges-1m-scholarships-hope-nurses-70744709","id":70744709,"image":{"alt":"Twins accepted to 38 colleges with $1M in scholarships hope to become nurses","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/twins-colleges-main-ht-jt-200518_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Siblings visit grandfather in cap and gowns ","description":"The siblings earned law and medical degrees in the class of 2020.","duration":"0:46","uploadDate":"05-22-2020","publication":"05-22-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200522_gma_digital_first_gen_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200522_gma_digital_first_gen_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/generation-students-visit-grandfather-nursing-home-cap-gowns-70818826"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:living:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"living","title":"Siblings visit grandfather in cap and gowns ","pubTime":"17:09","pubDate":"05-22-2020","modTime":"13:30","modDate":"05-26-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":70818826,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Siblings visit grandfather in cap and gowns ","mediaAssetTitle":"GRANDPA GRADUATION VISIT","videoId":70818826,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/living/story/generation-students-visit-grandfather-nursing-home-cap-gowns-70818826"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/70818826","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/70818826","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};