DETROIT (WXYZ) — Sometimes we do stories that warm our hearts so much that we have to do a follow-up.
Well, that young boy shared with us how much one of his teachers meant to him and why he wanted to follow in her footsteps.
We shared that online and we decided to go back and give him a little surprise.
We met Ezekiel Moore and his mom Margret Morant at COTS Peggy's Place in Detroit doing a story about a drop in donations for area shelters. It's an amazing place that accepts whole families.
“The first night I slept here that was the first peaceful night I've had in years,” Morant told us.
Margret escaped an abusive relationship to save her son.
“I am a survivor of domestic abuse. That is one of the strongest hurdles I had to face in my life,” she says.
But when talking to 10-year-old Ezekiel, he told me about his hopes and dreams. He told me he wanted to become a teacher.
“Because I had an amazing teacher. Her name was Ms. Peterson and I really have her as a female role model because she was an amazing teacher.”
We learned LaDawn Peterson has been a teacher for 25 years. She teaches journalism to elementary school students at Samuel Gompers Elementary and Middle School in Detroit.
“I would say I miss you a lot, I love you, and thank you for all of the support you gave me,” Ezekiel says he would tell her.
Well, after hearing this young man, who has a 4.0, speak so eloquently about his love for school and his commitment to being the very best despite trying circumstances, we decided to do something special.
“Another activity here is basketball in the back where people park their cars. When there's not a lot of cars around, I play basketball with my friends,” Ezekiel says.
So we sat down to chat.
“You had one special lady, I think you, were telling me about on Monday who made a big difference in your life. Ms. Peterson?” I asked.
“Yeah, Ms. Peterson, yeah,” he says.
“And so, because of what she did for you and your heart and in class, now you want to be a teacher. Well, I got something for you. Let me see if I can go get it. I'm going to walk over here and see if I can find it.”
“You're gonna make me cry.”
“Don't cry I missed you, I missed you so much.”
“Teachers mean so much, but especially in the city of Detroit, when you see a little boy like that who says you're his female role model what does that mean to you?” I asked Mr. Peterson after her reunion with Erekiel.
“it means so much. When I saw it, tears came to my eyes. I love what I do and there are certain kids who come in your classroom, and they light it up,” she says. “He has been that. He's an amazing student, an amazing young man, always smiling. It means so much to know that I mean so much to a student.”
She also brought him t-shirts with a message to remember.: You are now witnessing greatness.
And if that wasn't a big enough surprise, Ezekiel takes classes virtually at the shelter but loves playing basketball.
“Why do you love basketball so much?”
“Because I used to have a built-in basketball hoop in my tree but unfortunately a tree fell down on our house and it broke the basketball rim,” he says. “I loved being in my backyard playing basketball, so it brings back memories.”
“It brings back memories but here you told me sometimes when the cars are gone you and your friends can go out there and play basketball. So that's a fun thing. Well, we have another surprise for you, so I'm going to get it.
It was former NBA player who now works for the Detroit Pistons Earl Cureton.
“They told me you got a 4.0, you doing all those great things,” he told Ezekiel. “I heard a whole lot of things about you, so they told me to come check you out. I'm a former Piston. I work for the Pistons now.”
And he came with a whole lot of swag, including a Pistons jersey autographed by Cade "Motorcade" Cunningham himself, plus hats, shirts, a coat, bookbag, basketball, and so much more and his reaction said it all.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh more hats, gotta keep warm!”
“Thank you for making this little boy's morning.”
“Never too busy to do things like this, especially this time of the year. Its Thanksgiving. Any time you can do stuff like this, it's great.”
“Ezekiel, you want to say anything to the Pistons and to Earl Cureton right here?”
“Thank you so much.”
And then there was one final surprise that even I wasn't expecting.
“One more thing to tell you, man. We're going to invite you and your mom to a Pistons’ basketball game.”
“I never went to a basketball game!”
