“I’ve always been a rule follower. When they said not to chew gum, I didn’t chew gum. When they said not to use your cellphone, I didn’t use my cellphone. But today, in the spirit of defying expectations, and for perhaps the last time at this podium, I say..."
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.
"You know what I do recall? The nurse that stood in the bathroom with me and gave me a shower after my C-section. The nurse that was on the helicopter with my Mom the day she died and said she made sure she held her hand because even after she passed she didn't want her to be alone."
"Good thing I’m so skinny from starvation, I thought, as I stood pinned behind an IV pole up against the wall (after 18 hours passed without ingesting a single calorie). Funny story in the elevator, though. My Respiratory Therapist hadn’t eaten lunch either."
