A beloved history teacher at a Mississippi high school got the surprise of his life last month when the senior class surprised him with a new car.

Jason Broome, who’s taught at Lamar Christian School for nearly a decade, found himself and his young son on the side of the road one January morning when his 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee started to fill with smoke, according to Hub City Spokes.

Broome knew the vehicle was on its last leg and had tried to squeeze every last mile out of it in the months leading up to the morning it finally quit for good. When group of seniors found out about the breakdown and knew he’d probably buy another car that would end up in the same shape, they decided to come together to equip Broome and his family with a more reliable vehicle.

Senior Connor Bowman tracked down a $6,000 Hyundai Sonata and organized the efforts of several students to give what they could to buy the car.

Once the deal was done, all that was left was the surprise.

“I’m not a person who likes to cry, but I felt emotional,” Broome told Hub City Spokes. “I didn’t know what words to say to express my gratitude. They didn’t just select any old thing; I would have been touched with anything. At this point, I would have been excited about anything that ran. This is really a nice car.”

Watch the video below and read the full story on HubCitySpokes.com.