Here are my parents waiting for my presentation (Re: NAISA 2018). This was the first time they were seeing me present and my father kept coming down the aisle to take photos lmao https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen">

I gave them a shout out during my presentation and my father got up and waved like Queen Elizabeth. My mom was complaining to him bc he didn’t give her the heads up so she could get up as well https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen">

They chose the seats where the light was right in their face also, despite being the first ones lol I think they were more nervous than me but my parents are my pride & joy https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🥺" title="Pleading face" aria-label="Emoji: Pleading face">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✨" title="Funken" aria-label="Emoji: Funken"> They don’t have the economic resources to spoil me with money but they spoil me with love & support https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✨" title="Funken" aria-label="Emoji: Funken">

My father has no western education bc as a child he faced war. My mother only made it to the sixth grade, so for them seeing their children be granted opportunities they were never granted is a privilege. They were so happy they also got conference bags lol https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen">

This was also when they met Dr. Linda T Smith and other professors. My parents drove from the south all the way to Los Angeles (2,000 + miles) to see me present. They made this conference enjoyable & I am glad they enjoyed it too lol

The funny part was that my mom kept sending my dad to take pics bc they were blurry or not what she wanted lmao https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen"> So when I say he came down the aisle it was several times https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😊" title="Lächelndes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Lächelndes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen"> He also got up to stand next to me when the Q & A started lol https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤩" title="Vom Star geblendet" aria-label="Emoji: Vom Star geblendet">

This is one of the pics the moderator took...look at my dad in the back https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen">

He is also short so I think his arm length didn’t give him the angle he wanted so this is why he was coming down the aisle. The room was divided into two (this angle is half the room)

They also matched their shirts bc they wanted folks to know they came together lol https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen"> I was like dad & mom, shirt colors don’t determine that lmao but according to my parents they do so they wore salmon pink colored shirts lol