For four years, McDaniel College student Justine Tinnin worked hard to complete her sociology degree, often closing down the library, writing papers late into the night.
The Baltimore native managed to complete her course work while holding a series of jobs, including work in a dining hall and as a resident assistant in the dorms. She was also a member of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority and the gospel choir. And when she became pregnant in her sophomore year, she managed to return to campus after one semester.
But at Saturday's commencement, it was Tinnin's mother who accepted her degree in her place. Tinnin died suddenly after suffering a seizure in March, just two months shy of graduation. She was 21.
On Saturday, McDaniel awarded her a bachelor's degree, posthumously.
"It's such an honor," said her mother, Linda Case. "It's bittersweet. My baby's not here but she worked so hard for this moment but God had a better plan. She did so much in so little time."
Beth Gerl, vice president for student affairs at McDaniel, said Tinnin was "an amazing young woman who was absolutely capable of doing anything."
She recalled a meeting just days before Tinnin's death. The student talked about wanting to return to Baltimore after graduation to do social work.
"I'm going back to give back to my community," Gerl recalled Tinnin saying.
Tinnin grew up in Edmondson Village and graduated from Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy in 2012. She received a CollegeBound Foundation scholarship to McDaniel.
During her sophomore year, she became pregnant with her daughter, Camille Symone Price. Case said the pregnancy was unexpected but did not deter her daughter from finishing her degree.
Classmate La'Bria Wallace said her friend was "very driven."
"She never quit," Wallace said. Having her daughter, she said, "motivated her more."
Tinnin was determined to make a better future for both of them, Wallace said.
Wallace took several sociology courses with Tinnin, and was helping her complete her senior sociology capstone research project.
Tinnin's research explored race and social class on campus, including how white students and minorities might interpret racial tension differently, and why black students are more likely to be cited by campus security than white students.
Tinnin worked on the project but did not complete it before her death, so Wallace finished it for her, allowing her to earn her degree.
"I knew how important this was to her," Wallace said.
Tinnin worked on the project up until she died.
Case said Tinnin's boyfriend called her one day in March to tell her Tinnin had suffered a seizure and was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
For three days, Case said, she sat in the hospital room with her daughter and many visitors.
"We couldn't stop the kids from coming," she said.
By the third day, Case said, it was apparent her daughter was brain dead.
"I just asked God, 'Whatever you decide to do will be fine,'" Case said.
She said by putting her faith in God has given her peace, but she is concerned for Tinnin's daughter and young friends.
"The kids just loved on my daughter so much," she said. "I cannot even explain it — horrific and bittersweet."
The funeral was packed with students, she said. When Case and other family members went to campus to clean out Tinnin's dorm room, they were surprised by a tribute her friends had put together. They packed into a gym at the school, where photos of Justine were projected onto a large screen.
"She was right there in the gym," Case said. "It was hard, but it was beautiful."
Wallace, who received her degree on Saturday, said she was both excited and sad.
"It's a special day for everyone," she said. "I think Justine is what motivated a lot of us to make it to this day."
She said many students were affected by her death. It brought students closer together, she said, and pushed them to succeed.
Wallace said Tinnin was considering pursuing a master's degree in forensic science.
"So many people wanted to give up," she said. "But just to see how hard Justine worked with her baby and complete on time, I feel like none of us had an excuse."
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