(WSVN) - A chance meeting between two strangers in downtown Miami turns into a life-changing moment for one little girl. 7’s Lynn Martinez shows us how their special bond is now raising the bar.
Graduation is always an important day, but for Ahjane Bowman, her night was made extra special by a surprise guest.
Cynthia Harris-Duval, attorney: “It sounds cliché, you can do anything, but you really can.”
This is Cynthia Harris-Duval, and she had no idea that she inspired Ahjane to go to law school.
It all started when Ahjane was 15. She stopped by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Miami to visit her dad, who worked as a security guard. She noticed a woman walking inside, a complete stranger. For some reason, Ahjane was drawn to her and told her dad she wanted to meet her.
Lemel Vail, father: “I ran up the stairs. I stopped. I was like, ‘Hey this is my daughter,’ you know?”
The woman Lemel ran to turned out to be Cynthia. She told the young girl she was a law clerk. They only spoke for a few minutes, but that chance meeting changed Ahjane’s future.
Ahjane Bowman, graduate: “OK, I’m going to go to college and I’m going to be an attorney.”
That’s exactly what she did. Ahjane graduated this spring. Her dad wanted to invite the woman who had left such a lasting impression on his daughter to her graduation party.
Lemel Vail: “It’s like all this time my daughter never forgot her. She would always mention, ‘Cynthia, Cynthia.'”
But he only knew her first name and after all this time, he couldn’t find her. But 7News did – at Nova Southeastern in Davie.
Fourteen years later, Ahjane and Cynthia have been reunited.
They promise to stay in touch and hope to be an inspiration to young girls reaching for their dreams.
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