A Florida teen is capturing national attention with her powerful valedictorian speech and clever use of strawberries as a stage prop.
Brenda Alvarez-Lagunas publicly thanked her immigrant parents at her graduation from Mulberry High School, May 24 in Mulberry, Florida. The 18-year-old opened her 8-minute speech by placing a carton of fruit on the podium.
In her speech she holds up a series of strawberries and reveals, one by one, what each one represents: sweat, dirt, the blazing sun and aches and pains. "It touched my heart to hear it touched other people's hearts [who said ] they understood my message," said Alvarez-Lagunas."I wanted to use my platform to show migrant students or students that come from migrant parents: No matter what you do ... all of these accomplishments are a big deal."
"Despite the beaming sun and the body aches and pains, their smile showed with every bucket of produce they carried," she said during her speech. Alvarez-Lagunas is a founding member of the Adelante Club, which organizes toy drives and food drives and provides literacy outreach for migrant youth.
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