The Story Behind the Heartwarming Photo of the Professor Holding His Student's Toddler During Class

To the surprise of one Colorado college professor, a photo of a him holding his student's toddler son during a class lecture Monday night has taken the Internet by storm.

"I have my own 2-year-old, so I held him and went about my teaching and it was no big deal," Joel Bunkowske of Nashville, Tennessee, told ABC News. "I didn’t really think anything of it."

"It's not really about me," he added. "I think a lot of people are struggling, like single mothers like Amanda. What touches our hearts is there are people that care. To me, it [the photo] represents what teachers do every day, all across the United States."

Bunkowske, who is an educator at DeVry University in Nashville, Tennessee, said hours before his interpersonal communications class, he received a call from student Amanda Osbon, informing him that she would be unable to attend that night.

"She had a situation where she had a babysitter lined up and the babysitter didn’t show up for some reason," Bunkowske said. "My response was 'It’s a whole lot better if you come to class because I'd hate for you to miss a class.' To stop someone from getting that education because of a life circumstance, I think is a travesty."

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