Hinding-hindi malilimutan ni Alem Hadzic, 18, ang pagtatapos niya bilang valedictorian sa senior high school.
Nung siya ay nasa stage na para i-deliver ang kanyang valedictory address, nagbigay-paliwanag muna siya tungkol sa maputik na sapatos at nanginginig na mga braso.
Saka niya sinabi sa lahat ng dumalo sa senior-high-school graduation sa Early College High School sa Texas, USA, noong May 16, 2024, na yun din ang araw ng libing ng kanyang ama.
Ayon sa mga ulat, ang graduation ceremonies ay nangyari 45 minutes matapos ang funeral rites para kanyang ama.
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Valedictorian's PROMISE
Mabilis na nag-viral ang speech ni Alem, na hindi napigilang ikuwento ang pinagdaanan ng kanyang pamilya simula January 2024, noong na-diagnose na may pancreatic cancer ang kanyang ama.
“I avoided mentioning this to as many people as I could because I didn’t want to spend my last semester of high school talking to people who wanted to treat me different or just felt bad for me,” sabi ni Alem sa bandang dulo ng kanyang speech.
“My father died yesterday, May 15, 2024, and I attended his funeral today right before graduation,” rebelasyon niya.
“That’s why my shoes are muddy, that’s why my arms are shaking because I had to carry him into his grave and bury him.
“And I can’t stand up here and pretend I want to be doing the speech right now. But I can’t throw something away that he worked so hard for me to achieve.”
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Para raw sa kanyang yumaong ama, ipagpapatuloy ni Alem ang pag-aaral sa kolehiyo.
“I’m going to spend every hour of every day working as hard as I can to achieve all of my goals, because that’s what he wanted, and I”m going to do it for him.”
VALEDICTORIAN'S MESSAGE TO FELLOW GRADUATES
Pagkatapos, hinimok ni Alem ang kanyang fellow graduates na tingnan ang kanilang mga magulang at ipangakong mag-aaral din silang mabuti.
Hindi pa man natatapos ang speech ni Alem, nagtayuan na ang lahat sa venue at binigyan siya ng standing ovation.
Sa kanyang interview sa ABC News, sinabi ni Alem na hindi niya alam kung paano niya naitawid ang speech nung araw na iyon.
“It was a rough, rough day."
Ang huling bahagi raw ng kanyang speech ay “from the heart" at wala na sa script.
“I didn’t feel so alone in that moment. That’s when I knew I could get through it,” sabi niya.
Si Alem ay nagtapos na may 4.0 grade point average at may associate of science degree sa Early College.
Plano niyang magkolehiyo sa University of Texas at kumuha ng kursong chemical engineering.