High School Valedictorian Alem Hadzic Delivers Graduation Speech Hours After Dads Funeral [Video]

High school class valedictorian Alem Hadzic had a much different graduation day on May 16 than the one he’d worked so hard for throughout his education career. 

The 18-year-old Early College High School valedictorian took the stage at his graduation ceremony to deliver his speech—just hours after his father’s funeral.

“People were coming over to wish me luck and I was kind of blowing them off,” Hadzic told TODAY. “In my head, I was thinking, ‘Can I do this?’”

Only a few of his close friends even knew his father had passed away just one day prior, leaving the graduation audience shocked when he revealed the events of his day. 

“My father died yesterday, May 15, 2024, and I attended his funeral today, right before graduation,” Hadzic said in his speech, per a video posted on Facebook. “That’s why my shoes are muddy and my arms are shaking, because I had to carry him into his grave and bury him.”

The …