Student sneaks lightsabers into his graduation and challenges the principal to a fun duel on stage

A Canadian high school graduate made sure that his commencement ceremony would be an epic one to remember. The "Star Wars" fan decided to battle with his principal on stage in Jedi style and it's adorable. Eighteen-year-old Hunter Wark-Pantoja graduated from Heritage Woods Secondary School in Port Moody, British Columbia, in June along with 350 other students. During the graduation ceremony, he challenged his principal to a lightsaber battle. After his name was announced, he collected his diploma and walked on stage toward his principal, Todd Clerkson, pulling out a lightsaber from underneath his graduation gown appearing to be ready for a fight.

Pantoja is a huge "Star Wars" fan and though his principal had an idea, he was surprised at the graduation. "He is a Star Wars enthusiast and asked me the day before commencement if he could bring a lightsaber on stage," Clerkson told Tri-City News. "He surprised me on stage by producing a second lightsaber which led to a fun impromptu duel between us," he added.

Pantoja pulled out an orange lightsaber to the excitement of the crowd and presented it to his principal before pulling out a purple one for himself. His principal accepted the invitation sportingly and jumped straight into battle mode. The two wound up their lightsabers and swung them in a circular manner and then tap their lightsabers. Before Pantoja made the final move, sliding the lightsaber between Clerkson's arm and side, both men spread their arms wide and drew back their swords in a dramatic moment of tension.

The fun impromptu fight on one of the most important days of Pantoja's life ended with the principal and his student exchanging hugs. Pantoja shared that when he had earlier this year asked his principal about bringing one to graduation, Clerkson had said "maybe." Pantoja told Good News Network, laughing, "So I obviously took that as a yes."  He wanted to surprise everyone at the ceremony. "The whole crowd was screaming and applauding – it couldn’t have been a better way to graduate," Pantoja said. 

Pantoja's friend, Joey Aconley, shared that he knew Pantoja might try to pull the lightsaber stunt as they had already spoken about it. But Joey also was surprised when he saw Pantoja pull out his lightsaber. “One day we were chatting about doing something on stage at graduation, but when he actually did it, we all screamed. We cheered so loud for him,” he said. Joey, who captured the moment on camera, said, “Ever since I’ve known him, he was always a big Star Wars fan. Every May 4th—a globally-recognized Star Wars Day—he would bring lightsabers to school for battles,” said Joey. “In photography class, he would use them as light sources.” Pantoja now wants to return to school every year on May 4th to reminisce the moment.

People on social media have applauded the principal for being a sport. A user wrote: "Okay but why is the principal so good tho." Another user commented: "Principal passed the vibe check." A user wrote on Twitter commenting on the video shared by Clerkson himself, "Another reason you're my favorite principal :) Thanks for all you are doing, helping our kids in their very important high school years ! Great job." Some users commented with references to their favorite film and characters. "The pupil has become the master. If you listen closely, you'll hear Todd say, "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine," one person tweeted.  A different user tweeted, "The force is strong with this graduation." Another person wrote, "We need to live more light hearted like this every day!!! Need more of this in every aspect of our lives!!"