Texas Girl Recreates Photo With Harvard Officer She Met As Toddler After Returning As Student
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) — When Crystal Wang was a toddler she and her family left their Houston home and set off on a trip to Massachusetts. While there her family toured Harvard University and her father took a photograph of her smiling alongside campus police officer Charles Marren.
It turns out, the photo was prophetic.
Wang is now a member of Harvard's Class of 2023. So, of course, she had to recreate the original image with Officer Marren during move-in.
While of course Wang, now 18, looks a lot different. It looks like Marren hasn't aged a day.
Wang had just turned 3 years old when her father, Jin, took the original photo while in the area on a business trip. She said she didn't even know the pic existed until her dad showed her after she was accepted into Harvard's dual degree program with Berklee College of Music.
Her dad didn't know the officer's name but suggested that his daughter try and find out if he still worked there.
When the teenager posted the original photo on Instagram announcing her college decision, a reporter working for the Harvard Gazette saw it and recognized Officer Marren. She got in touch and set a date for the two to meet again.
When the two reunited, Wang said the connection was genuine. Marren even gave her his personal cell phone number and told her to call if she ever needed anything.
"It was just a really, really good time," she said. "I really connected with him."
According to the Gazette, Marren joined the police force after retiring from the Marine Corps. He's served in Hawaii, Japan, Korea, and Washington, D.C., and has since spent 15 years patrolling Harvard Yard.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company contributed to this report.)
