It was a day full of mixed emotions for MTSU education graduates as they received their diplomas Saturday.

"It's something I've looked forward to my whole life so it's very, very special," Anna Creasy said.
 
One of their proudest achievements came less than 24 hours after 20 students and six adults were shot and killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn.

"I watched the news and cried," Brooke Greene said.  "I couldn't really believe that anybody could do that, walk into an elementary school.  It's just unbelievable."

As details emerge about the massacre, stories of heroism also come to light. like that of Victoria Soto, who reportedly was killed protecting her students.

The New York Daily News reports the 27-year-old teacher hid her first graders in a closet.  When 20-year-old Adam Lanza entered the classroom, she told him the kids weren't there."

Lanza reportedly shot and killed her but did not find the children.

"It's sad," Jodi Smith said.  "It's just sad."

"It definitely hit close to home being a teacher," Jillian Banwormer said.

Despite those horrific events, the soon-to-be educators said instead of being scared away from the profession, they were inspired by what the teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary did to protect the children.

"They are heroes," Greene said.  "I can t imagine ever being put into that situation but I think I would do the same."

The graduates look forward to a bright future in the classroom, hopefully free of violence, but say, they're more than willing to do what it takes, if it ever comes.

"When you're in that situation it's just 'protect the kids and get them as far away as possible,'" Smith said.  "It doesn't always work.  Unfortunately, [at Sandy Hook] they lost a lot of lives but we do what we can to protect them that's why we're there."

"You treat those little kids just like they're your own and you'll do anything to protect them," Creasy said.Future Educators Inspired by Selfless Sandy Hook Teachers - Eric Alvarez