Teacher gives student his shoes at graduation after teen was turned away for wearing wrong ones

A Louisiana high school teacher generously lent a student his shoes after the teen was turned away for wearing sneakers.

Per Washington Post, on May 19, 18-year-old Daverius Peters nearly missed the opportunity to walk on stage and collect his diploma simply because he was not wearing footwear that complied with the school's graduation dress code.

Peters told the Post that a representative from Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana prevented him from entering the venue due to his black leather sneakers, which "violated the dress code"..

Per the dress code, male students were instructed to wear dark-colored dress shoes to the graduation ceremony, and "athletic shoes" were banned.

"I was in shock," Peters continued. "I felt humiliated. I just wanted to walk across the stage and get my diploma."

The teen then recalled seeing a teacher's assistant at his school named John Butler. His daughter, Jaelyn, was graduating from the same school. Peters went over to Butler and relayed the situation to him.

"Of course, that sounded crazy to me," Butler told The Post. "There was nothing eccentric about his shoes."

Butler had been wearing brown loafers, which he gladly handed over to the youngster so that he could join his friends in the ceremony.

"It was a no-brainer," he said. "This was the most important moment in his life up to that point, and I wasn't going to let him miss it for anything."

"Mr. Butler is that type of person," Peters said of the educator's kindness. "At school, if you're having a bad day, he'll be the one to take you out of class, walk around the school with you and talk to you."

The only issue was that the shoes weren't Peters' size as he wears size 9 footwear while Butler's loafers were a size 11.

Regardless, the young man tried as best he could to walk in the shoes. Meanwhile, the teacher watched the ceremony in his socks.

The oversized shoes certainly didn't escape the notice of Peters' family. In fact, per The Post, Peters' mother Jima Smith, said to her family: "Wait a minute, whose shoes does he have on?"

Featured image credit: Michael Burrell / Alamy