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<p>A high school valedictorian in Texas, United States (US), delivered a moving speech at his&nbsp;graduation,&nbsp;hours after he buried his father, American media reported on Saturday (May 25).&nbsp;On May 16, 18-year-old Alem Hadzic, who graduated from the&nbsp;Early College High School, began his graduation speech with "Good Morning America" while his arms&nbsp;shook and&nbsp;his shoes were&nbsp;stained&nbsp;with mud.</p>

<p>Earlier in the day,&nbsp;Hadzic attended the funeral of his father&nbsp;Miralem&nbsp;Hadzic&nbsp;who&nbsp;died on May 15 following a monthslong battle with&nbsp;pancreatic cancer, a report by ABC7 said. Hadzic said he helped bury his father and then drove with his younger sister to his graduation ceremony.</p>

<h2><strong>'A rough, rough day'</strong></h2>

<p>"I was just shaking before my speech because I knew what I&nbsp;was going to&nbsp;say. I didn't know how I was going to say it.&nbsp;And it&nbsp;really was a rough,&nbsp;rough day," he told ABC7.&nbsp;"I think&nbsp;people could tell there was something off because I was very silent.&nbsp;People were trying to talk to me, and I would just&nbsp;kind of&nbsp;blow them off," he added.</p>

<p>Hadzic revealed in his speech that his father had cancer, a fact that the 18-year-old kept from many, and that his father had died. But he wanted&nbsp;to share his dad's story more widely to inspire his peers.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="es"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/historia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#historia</a> 💔👏🏽 El mejor estudiante de un instituto de Texas pronunció un emocionante discurso dedicado a su padre pocas horas después de asistir a su funeral.<br />
Alem Hadzic, de 18 años, se graduó en el Early College High School el 16 de mayo.<br />
A su padre, Miralem Hadzic, le ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/Ndmb1dsosQ">pic.twitter.com/Ndmb1dsosQ</a></p>
— 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗢 𝘈 𝘝𝘖𝘊𝘌𝘚 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔 (@ruidiaz_ddhh) <a href="https://twitter.com/ruidiaz_ddhh/status/1794808359293755540?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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<p>"I said that I didn't want to be up there&nbsp;but&nbsp;I couldn't throw something away that he worked so hard for me to achieve. And that's why I'm going to college, and I'm going to work every&nbsp;single&nbsp;hour of every single day, and I'm going to do it for him," Hadzic said.</p>

<p>"I wanted to encourage everyone to do what I was doing, even if they didn't lose anyone. Just do it, like succeed for your loved ones. Those&nbsp;are the people who&nbsp;want you to succeed the most,"&nbsp;he added.</p>

<h2><strong>Hadzic receives standing ovation for speech</strong></h2>

<p>Hadzic's speech made the audience emotional&nbsp;and&nbsp;the 18-year-old got a standing ovation.&nbsp;Hadzic said that&nbsp;when he went off-script,&nbsp;he was&nbsp;just&nbsp;speaking from his heart.</p>

<p>The 18-year-old also pointed out that he shared a very close relationship with his&nbsp;father,&nbsp;and that his father was a self-sacrificing person.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The ABC7 report said&nbsp;that&nbsp;Hadzic graduated with a 4.0 GPA, earning&nbsp;both&nbsp;a high school diploma and an associate of science degree from Early College.&nbsp;He plans to major in chemical engineering&nbsp;at the University of Texas, Austin.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


A high school valedictorian in Texas, United States (US), delivered a moving speech at his graduation, hours after he buried his father, American media reported on Saturday (May 25).

A high school valedictorian in Texas, United States (US), delivered a moving speech at his graduation, hours after he buried his father, American media reported on Saturday (May 25). On May 16, 18-year-old Alem Hadzic, who graduated from the Early College High School, began his graduation speech with "Good Morning America" while his arms shook and his shoes were stained with mud. Earlier in the day, Hadzic attended the funeral of his father Miralem Hadzic who died on May 15 following a monthslong battle with pancreatic cancer, a report by ABC7 said. Hadzic said he helped bury his father and then drove with his younger sister to his graduation ceremony. 'A rough, rough day' "I was just shaking before my speech because I knew what I was going to say. I didn't know how I was going to say it. And it really was a rough, rough day," he told ABC7. "I think people could tell there was something off because I was very silent. People were trying to talk to me, and I would just kind of blow them off," he added. Hadzic revealed in his speech that his father had cancer, a fact that the 18-year-old kept from many, and that his father had died. But he wanted to share his dad's story more widely to inspire his peers. #historia 💔👏🏽 El mejor estudiante de un instituto de Texas pronunció un emocionante discurso dedicado a su padre pocas horas después de asistir a su funeral. Alem Hadzic, de 18 años, se graduó en el Early College High School el 16 de mayo. A su padre, Miralem Hadzic, le ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Ndmb1dsosQ — 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗢 𝘈 𝘝𝘖𝘊𝘌𝘚 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔 (@ruidiaz_ddhh) May 26, 2024 × "I said that I didn't want to be up there but I couldn't throw something away that he worked so hard for me to achieve. And that's why I'm going to college, and I'm going to work every single hour of every single day, and I'm going to do it for him," Hadzic said. "I wanted to encourage everyone to do what I was doing, even if they didn't lose anyone. Just do it, like succeed for your loved ones. Those are the people who want you to succeed the most," he added. Hadzic receives standing ovation for speech Hadzic's speech made the audience emotional and the 18-year-old got a standing ovation. Hadzic said that when he went off-script, he was just speaking from his heart. The 18-year-old also pointed out that he shared a very close relationship with his father, and that his father was a self-sacrificing person. The ABC7 report said that Hadzic graduated with a 4.0 GPA, earning both a high school diploma and an associate of science degree from Early College. He plans to major in chemical engineering at the University of Texas, Austin. (With inputs from agencies)

US high school valedictorian delivers moving speech hours after burying father

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US high school valedictorian delivers moving speech hours after burying father