Olivia Smith, daughter of Bowdoin freshman-turned-graduate, Wil Smith, remembers the small things — the weight of her head on his shoulder as they walked across the stage, the giant classmates who doubled as babysitters, the quiet way he drew strength from her.
But when she tells the story now, the memory behind the laugh hits like a drumbeat: “My dad hid me in the closet at Staples.”
That moment, part survival, part improvisation, came during a year most students never face. Wil arrived on campus at 27 with two heavy credentials: service in the U.S. Navy and a toddler in tow. He wasn’t simply “nontraditional.” He carried the full, messy stakes of parenthood while trying to meet the academic demands of college life.
The inspiring Girl Dad-Daddy’s Girl story, originally published by StoryCorps turns routine college milestones into scenes of cinematic tension: nights spent working at Staples where she was tucked away between boxes, frantic juggling of classes and infant care, and the physical toll of not enough food or sleep. Her father lost pounds to stress. He cleaned stores overnight. He relied on newfound friends — his basketball teammates — to watch an “18-month-old who was tearing up the room.”
“Were you ever embarrassed bringing me to class?” Olivia asks her father in the recording. Wil answers without hesitation: awkwardness, yes — embarrassment, never.
That refusal to be ashamed anchored their journey. Olivia’s voice carries pride and tenderness as she retells graduation day: classmates rose and gave Wil “their only standing ovation.”
The dean read both names when awarding the diploma, a tiny ceremonial recognition that meant everything. Olivia teases that she “already graduated,” then laughs as Wil reminds her that the degree bears only his name.
The moment is funny, bittersweet. It is a celebration of a family that finished what it started together.
From Closet to Commencement: The Risks and Rewards of Student-Parenting
Olivia’s perspective turns up the temperature on questions we usually relegate to policy papers: What must colleges provide for student-parents? How do campus communities respond when someone arrives with a child and a story? In Wil’s case, teammates became babysitters; faculty and peers gave a standing ovation. Those acts of human solidarity — logistical and emotional — were the scaffolding that let a father finish school.
But the thrill of the story is in the stakes. Wil’s concealment at Staples, his extreme thinness from not having enough to eat, the late-night grind — these are not college anecdotes. They are survival scenes.
That Olivia watched all this and now speaks proudly shows the people we call “students” sometimes carry whole families on their backs.
Wil and Olivia recorded the conversation in 2012 shortly after he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Wil died on Feb. 22, 2015, at the age of 46.
A Daughter’s Tribute
Olivia clearly admired her dad’s strength; he says he drew his strength from her. That reciprocity — the child who steadies the parent — reframes common ideas about resilience.
It’s no longer just about individual grit. It’s about community, creative coping, and the small mercies that keep a family afloat: teammates who babysit, professors who show up, strangers who give a standing ovation.
For Olivia, the takeaway is simple and fierce: “I really admire your strength and I love you.”
For readers, it’s a nudge to reconsider how higher education supports parents and veterans who return to school — and to celebrate the unseen labors behind diplomas.
