Hero professor holds student's spot in line for Taylor Swift tickets so they can attend class

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 17, 2022. It has since been updated.

The presale for Taylor Swift's upcoming Eras Tour in the US opened later in 2022. The singer's fans—aka Swifties—lost no time in trying to get their hands on tickets but were left heartbroken when Ticketmaster, the company which is managing the ticket sales for the tour, crashed. Many took to Twitter to share their disappointment and complain about the slow booking process. Ticketmaster eventually rescheduled the sale timings for a few venues to reduce the traffic on their server. As fans struggled to get their tickets, one professor stepped up to help his student who was in line for the concert spot. 

Professor Austin Young Shull posted on Twitter a unique request that he received from his student. The message read, "Dear Dr. Shull, this is the question of the year. If you agree it will make my day and entire year. I am currently in line for Taylor swift tickets but have my anatomy Practicum at 1:30. Do you think it's at all possible that you could watch my spot in line on my laptop while I take it? I'll come to see you at 1:00 ish either way. please please please don't be the anti-hero :)" Shull captioned it: "You have to serve many roles when you're a professor and advisor."

In a follow-up tweet, he shared that he obliged the request and posted a picture of his student's laptop. The image featured the Ticketmaster's Eras Tour waiting window which showed his student in a queue with 2000 people ahead of them. 

Soon, the tweet was appreciated and received more than 93,000 likes as people on the internet were thoroughly impressed by Shull. A user wrote, "This is mentoring inspiration!" Another wrote, "I love that you are the kind of prof that has created a space and culture for your student to send this. This is everything."

People began to share their own experiences as well. "My advisor watched my two kids while I took a test, once. They still get a card every year," wrote a Twitter user. Another said, "One time I sent my dad to Ticketmaster to get tickets when I was in school. He came back with an extra ticket for himself. It would be kind of amazing if you made it to the front of the line and then invited yourself along."

This is not the first time that a professor has helped out a student. Dr. Samuel Reed, a professor at South Carolina's Lander University, showed his childcare and multitasking skills earlier in 2022 when his student brought her 2-month daughter to class with her. Peterra Richburg, a senior majoring in elementary education and a student in Reed's class, found herself in a predicament when a last-minute alteration in childcare left her having to decide between missing class and staying home to care for her daughter Aria or going to college with her baby.

While the whole class was very welcoming toward the infant, the highlight was when Reed scooped the little one up without skipping a beat when she got a bit fussy during class. He continued teaching while comforting Aria so that her mom could take notes. "She was alert and looking around when Dr. Reed was holding her," Richburg shared. "It was very sweet," Reed revealed that Aria is the first baby to attend one of his classes. "I was surprised and excited by baby Aria's visit to the class! Peterra had not brought her to class this semester, and I did not even know she was a new mom," he said.