A high school graduate from Texas, USA recently rushed to school to deliver a tear-jerking speech right after managing his father’s affairs, leaving the audience deeply moved. The video of his speech quickly went viral online.
On May 16, 18-year-old Alem Hadzic, a student at Early College High School, stood before his graduating class and initially congratulated them. However, to everyone’s surprise, he shared a heartbreaking news during his speech: his father Miralem lost his battle to cancer after a brief struggle.
“I have one more thing to say, I wanted to see if I could endure these difficult days,” Hadzic openly stated in his speech. “My father passed away yesterday (May 15, 2024), and I attended his funeral today, just a few hours before this graduation ceremony began. That’s why my shoes are covered in mud, why my arms are still shaking. Because I had to carry him into the grave and bury him.”
Hadzic revealed that his father was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the spring semester. However, he didn’t want many people to know about his condition because he didn’t want special treatment from friends and family in his final days.
He emphasized in his speech that all his achievements are credited to his father.
“Although I stand here now, I can’t lie and say I wanted to give this speech,” Hadzic said. “But I can’t disregard the efforts my father made for me to achieve what I have. That’s why I will go to college, why I will strive to study hard every moment to achieve all my goals because that’s what he wanted, and I will do it for him.”
Amidst applause, the Early College High School graduate stepped down from the stage, leaving everyone present touched by his speech.
Hadzic told Fox News that he didn’t expect so many people in the audience to shed tears.
After the ceremony, many strangers wanted to take photos with him, with some expressing how strong he was to share his story.
“In such dark days, their warm gestures and encouraging words have given me a lot of relief. This is indeed what I needed the most,” the young man said.
He mentioned that he made some last-minute changes to his speech because a lot had happened since he originally wrote it.
“When I stood at the podium,” he said, “I began to read the prepared speech, but when I reached the part about my father, I couldn’t stick to the script anymore. I had to tell my true experiences and insights, and it had to come from the heart.”
This fall, Hadzic will enroll at the University of Texas at Austin to study Chemical Engineering.
The Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD board expressed in a statement that the district is immensely proud of Alem Hadzic and all the graduating seniors of this month.
Carrollton City Limits provided the information.