Dwayne Johnson sends special surprise message to retiring English teacher and superfan

"Things like this are the best part of fame," he said.

May 8, 2020, 2:55 PM

One teacher got the surprise of her life as she retired from work after 39 years of educating.

Carol Propst -- who, up until recently, taught English at Virginia High School in Bristol, Virginia -- is one of Dwayne Johnson's biggest fans. So imagine her shock when she got a special gift and personalized video message from the "Jungle Cruise" actor at her going-away party.

The surprise came to fruition thanks to one of Propst's co-workers, Noah Ashbrook, who set out to catch Johnson's attention with an impressive Twitter campaign: #PropstRocks. The goal of the social media initiative -- which began Feb. 25 -- was to get an autograph from the former WWE star. But, of course, Johnson, 48, went above and beyond in the end.

"Hey Carol, Dwayne Johnson here. I wanted to take a moment to say congratulations," he said in the video, praising Propst for nearly four decades of "amazing, incredible" service to students. "Wow! Carol. Congratulations! I am so happy for you, and I am so proud of you."

"And, being that this is Teacher Appreciation Week, on behalf of all parents, Carol, I say thank you," Johnson continued. "Thank you, and thank all of your fellow teachers for your wisdom, for your love, for your care, for your discipline -- which I needed a lot if you were my teacher. But thank you so much for educating and for caring for our kids."

As for the contents of the gift, Johnson sent Propst a couple bottles of his brand of tequila, Teremana. He ended the clip by saying he hopes she will get to "share a shot" with him one day.

"English teachers are rarely at a loss for words," Propst wrote on Twitter, "but it is a steep challenge for me to verbalize my profound thanks to Dwayne @TheRock Johnson and his team for their unbelievably kind, generous, and thoughtful response to the Twitter challenge posed by some of my colleagues and students who wanted to give me a unique retirement send-off."

Johnson was able to see how she reacted to the big surprise, tweeting in response, "Awww I love seeing this. Her reaction is just beautiful. Things like this are the best part of fame."

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