The Reason This High School Custodian Sang at Graduation Will Bring a Tear to Your Eye

National anthem performances don't always make you emotional — they're extremely common, after all — but sometimes the palpable passion from the singer changes everything. That was the case with a performance by a man named Thurman Carthen, who sang the national anthem at Galena High School's graduation ceremony in Reno, NV. Carthen is a retiring custodian at the school who loves to sing — sometimes he'd sing "Happy Birthday" to administrators, USA Today reports. He never knew if any students really cared, but he was taken by surprise when students requested that he sing at their graduation.

Singing in front of thousands of people, Carthen belted out each note with so much soul and precision that he likely moved people to tears. He sings at church every Sunday, but he'd never sung this song in public before. "This is a great way to end my career," he told USA Today. "I mean, I help the kids hang up their banners and stuff, but this was really something." You won't want to miss this, so watch the performance for yourself.