Photo of Professor Babysitting Student's Kids While She Takes Exam Goes Viral
— -- A college professor offered to keep an eye on his student's children while she was taking her finals when her babysitter cancelled at the last minute, and a photo of the babysitting professor has gone viral.
Daniel Krebs of the University of Louisville was photographed playing computer games in the hallway outside his classroom with junior Monica Willard's 4-year-old son, Marcus, and 5-year-old daughter, Mikayla. Willard told ABC News she tried to get her kids to sit quietly on the couch before Krebs intervened. The single mother said there are no military bases by U of L so the day care centers nearby aren't open at a time that works for her schedule.
"The class didn't know they were there until Marcus came banging on the door," Willard said. "Dr. Krebs said, 'Don't worry. Go take your test. I've got them.'"
The 28-year-old ROTC student said her U.S. military history professor's act of kindness caught her by surprise, but Krebs insists it was just "common sense."
"A person like Monica, she's a non-commissioned officer going to school, she's a mom of two kids. I mean that's the kind of thing that's really impressive," Krebs told ABC News. "Me handling her kids for 40, 45 minutes, that's not impressive."
The professor said although his goal is to be "accessible" to his college students, he was a bit out of his element with Marcus and Mikayla.
"The little boy knew the names of the [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles] and he's yelling out these Italian names," Krebs said. "I didn't know who he was talking about. And the girl climbed on my shoulders and pulled my hair. But, apparently, I was so distracted that I didn't know people were taking photos of me."
After Willard stepped out of the classroom to check on her kids, she called on her friend and fellow exam-taker Victoria Henry to snap the shot since her kids commandeered her cellphone.
Henry told ABC News she couldn't resist posting the "kind act" online.
"A lot of professors just aren't as caring as Dr. Krebs is," Henry said. "Since military history is such a small class at U of L, he really got to know us on a personal level so we built that relationship with him outside of class."
Willard said she receives lots of support from her friends. But her kids are now big fans of Krebs.
"They didn't want to leave. They really just had a lot of fun. They want to come back to class with me."
