Who says New Yorkers are mean?

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A New York college student who got stuck on a subway train before his graduation on Tuesday received his "diploma" underground.

Jerich Marco Alcantara, a nursing student at Hunter College in New York, said he was given an impromptu graduation ceremony by fellow riders who stuck with him on the train.

"Everyone seemed annoyed, and by that time, my commencement was already about an hour in," Alcantara said. "So, I felt like lightening the mood and thanked everyone for 'coming to my graduation.'"

The passengers also presented him with a makeshift diploma via cell phone as someone played ceremonial music played in the background.

Alcantara said he ended up being stuck on the train for nearly two hours after a malfunction triggered the subway's emergency brakes.

Authorities eventually sent a rescue train, but he said that ended up "being delayed as well because of signal problems at the next station," Alcantara told ABC News in a statement Wednesday.

Fellow subway rider Nadiya Afzal captured the entire "ceremony" on her mobile phone.

"I've witnessed a lot of things on the trains, but this was a very special moment," Afzal told ABC affiliate WABC on Wednesday. "It was just a nice moment, to see we all came together for him. He deserved it."

Though Alcantara ultimately missed all of his official graduation ceremony, he said his subway experience "meant a lot to me" and his fellow riders "applauded