The front porch was the stage for this Northwestern High School student’s graduation

Hundreds of high school seniors at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill walked the stage and received their diplomas during graduation late last month. It’s a moment every high school student anticipates with excitement.

For Nate Threatt, a newly-graduated student from Northwestern, the graduation ceremony looked, and felt, a bit different.

Nate was born with autism, and for him events that involve large groups of people can be stressful. A graduation to be attended by thousands was nothing short of daunting.

Nate had planned at first to participate in the graduation ceremony.

“I started trying to pep-talk with him because he’s extremely shy. He gets very nervous and has high anxiety about being around people and crowds,” says Nate’s mother, Angie Howson.

Angie showed Nate YouTube videos of graduation ceremonies to give him an idea of what to expect. As the ceremony approached, Nate decided the graduation in a crowded coliseum wasn’t going to be the best choice for him.

“As the weeks went on and it got closer to the day, he said, ‘Mommy, no. There’s too many people,’” Howson said.

Though Nate chose not to attend Northwestern’s graduation, there still was plenty of opportunity to celebrate.

“Ms. Park, his teacher, gave me a call and asked if it would be OK if he could just hand-deliver his certificate of completion,” Howson said. “They wanted to tell him how proud they were.”

Instead of walking the stage, Nate’s teacher came right to his door to present his certificate of completion.

“He was super excited and happy,” Howson said.

The front porch was filled with smiles and congratulations, and Nate experienced his own unique graduation ceremony.

“He didn’t get a diploma like the other kids because he didn’t pass the state standardized testing, but you don’t judge a fish by its ability to fly,” Howson said. “He’s worked probably twice as hard as the average kid.”

Nate has struggled verbally and faced social anxieties since early childhood.

“He only said about three words until he was around five. For his first five years, I was learning sign language and he and I were signing back and forth,” Howson said. “He’s had the same bus driver since he was five, and she didn’t know until he was about 15 that he could talk.”

This has not stopped Nate from finding his place in the Rock Hill community.

Howson said when one takes the time to get to know Nate, they will have the privilege of knowing a witty, extremely kind man.

“He is so much smarter than any test or evaluation has ever proven. There is so much ability in his disability,” Howson said.

Despite any social anxiety, Nate is quick with a joke and is greeted all over Rock Hill with a fist bump or a high five.

“It’s been beautiful to watch him grow up. No matter what’s going on in the world, my son wakes up every day happy and smiling,” Howson said.

“I’m proud of him for finishing school. I don’t care that he didn’t walk the stage. I’m just proud that he got up every day, worked as hard as he could, and finished.”