NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — It was a moment of joy and a surprise of a lifetime as soldier and her son reunited in a Noblesville classroom after nearly a year apart.

U.S. Army Sgt. Jessica Pass hadn’t seen her son Hunter since February 2019, but the staff at Hazel Dell Elementary School made sure this reunion was an unforgettable one.

The school found out she was on her way back from Iraq and had a day to plan a surprise.

The staff decided they would hide Pass in a life-sized gift box in her son’s second-grade classroom.

“We called around and tried to find a box big enough that it would fit someone in it,” the school’s media specialist, Kelly Badgett said.

“When we discussed making the box we couldn’t decide how we we were going to decorate it,” Assistant Principal Deanna Cline said. “We didn’t want to give away the secret. We wanted to build that anticipation.”

Cline and Badgett say it’s tough to think about being a mom in Pass’s shoes.

“I don’t know that we can imagine,” Cline said. ” If we’re a couple days without seeing our kids for a conference or something, we miss our kids tremendously. I can’t imagine 342 days.”

When Pass came out of the box, Hunter sat in awe for just a couple seconds before running into his mom’s arms.

“I think butterflies in my stomach,” Cline said. “I was so super excited for Hunter.”

“My eyes were automatically filled with tears,” Badgett said. “I mean, I don’t even think there are words to describe the feeling in the room in the moment. It just made us all so proud.”

Pass was a little too emotional to speak with News 8 but the hug and these tears spoke loud and clear and now she gets to spend some quality time with her kids.

Watch the full surprise on Randall Newsome’s Facebook Live post.