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‘You Are Made in the Image of God’—Valedictorian’s Faith-Filled Graduation Speech Goes Viral for All the Right Reasons

A South Carolina high school valedictorian is going viral for her very faith-based graduation speech following a devastating tragedy.

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Early College High School valedictorian Alem Hadzic has gone viral after he took the stage at his graduation ceremony to deliver his speech—just hours after his father's funeral. 

See the High School Graduation Trend That’s Making the Internet Cry

As the class of 2024 graduates and the school year comes to a close, there’s a new trend happening on social media that has all of us sentimentals feeling unwell over how fast time flies. 

Mom of 15-Year-Old Girl Killed in Kentucky School Shooting Breaks Silence: “I Want to Pray for Him”

Fifteen-year-old Bailey Holt had only recently started at Marshall County High School in Kentucky when she fell prey to the shooter who killed two and injured sixteen on Tuesday.

The teen, known as “a perfect angel” with a heart of gold, called her mother in her final moments just before a fellow student took her life.


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“She called me, and all I could hear was voices, chaos in the background,” says her mom, Secret Holt. “She couldn’t say anything, and I tried to call her name over and over and over, and she never responded. We rushed to the high school, and they wouldn’t let us get through.”

Bailey’s boyfriend of 6-months was one of the other 16 victims injured in the rampage, but thankfully he survived after a near-fatal shot to the face.

The 15-year-old’s heartbroken parents, Secret and Jasen, recently opened up to CNN after the traumatic event that killed their oldest child.

“Whatever that kid had going through his mind, I don’t know,” said Secret. “But if he needed a friend, I know she would’ve been a friend to him and talked to him about anything he needed because that’s just the kind of person she was.”

Bailey’s parents and friends alike describe the aspiring labor & delivery nurse as “goofy and funny and super sweet” with a smile that could “light up the room.”

“She was an angel here on earth,” said Jasen. “She was a perfect angel.”

“Her smile was so contagious,” added her best friend Johanna Davis. “Everybody loved her. Nobody knew one bad thing about her because she was always positive.”

Though stricken by unimaginable grief, Bailey’s parents have a surprisingly gracious attitude toward the boy who murdered their daughter.

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Akin to the likeness of Jesus, the Holts have taken a merciful posture of prayer while also seeking that full justice is served.

“I don’t know if I can go to court and see him. I just don’t know if I can, but I want him to pay for everything he’s done,” said Secret. “I also want to pray for him, too, because I know he’s probably having a hard time too, but he took our baby. He still took my baby from me.”

See more from the Holts in the CNN interview below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olSsgkfLziQ


If you’d like to help victims of the Marshall County High School shooting, you may donate to the GoFundMe set up by MCHS alums.

Parents, Take Back Your House

Kelsey Straeter
Kelsey Straeter
Kelsey is an editor at Outreach. She’s passionate about fear fighting, freedom writing, and the pursuit of excellence in the name of crucifying perfectionism. Glitter is her favorite color, 2nd only to pink, and 3rd only to pink glitter.

‘You Are Made in the Image of God’—Valedictorian’s Faith-Filled Graduation Speech Goes Viral for All the Right Reasons

A South Carolina high school valedictorian is going viral for her very faith-based graduation speech following a devastating tragedy.

High School Valedictorian Delivers Graduation Speech Hours After Dad’s Funeral

Early College High School valedictorian Alem Hadzic has gone viral after he took the stage at his graduation ceremony to deliver his speech—just hours after his father's funeral. 

See the High School Graduation Trend That’s Making the Internet Cry

As the class of 2024 graduates and the school year comes to a close, there’s a new trend happening on social media that has all of us sentimentals feeling unwell over how fast time flies.