This young mother had everything she needed on her graduation day: the all-important scroll, her cap and gown, and a happy baby in her arms.
Jacci Sharkey, from Queensland, was snapped by her sister-in-law during a tender moment in the celebrations, as she breastfed six-week-old son son Alek.
Jacqui, 24, shared the image with a message of thanks on the official Facebook page for the University of the Sunshine Coast on Monday, saying:
"Just wanted to share a photo from the most recent graduation that I am proud of. I'm extremely proud that with the support of the Uni, during my degree I was able to have 2 babies and still finish my degree. Thanks USC!"
USC in turn shared the message and post, and less than 24 hours later - Jacqui has gone viral, with the post attracting over 140,000 likes, over 4,000 shares and in excess of 7,000 comments. Many of those comments are commending the young woman's achievements, and thanking her for normalising breastfeeding by sharing such a tender and natural moment.
According to ABC, Ms. Sharkey said "I never expected it to go crazy. I thought I'd be really happy if it got 100 likes and then it's just gone out of control."
"There has been a sea of thank you messages from people. Some were saying they were really worried about starting university but that I've helped them through it.
"It was really heart warming ... you do come across your keyboard warriors but it's just nice to see the positive outweighs the negative."
"It's really great other people are on the same page."
