Nataly Buhr, the valedictorian of San Ysidro High School’s 2019 graduation ceremony, has gone viral after causing quite a stir during her commencement speech.
“Good evening parents, friends, staff and class of 2019,” she begins. “It’s a pleasure to speak her to you today. I’d like to give recognition to those who have greatly influenced me during the past four years. To my mother and father, you are the most hard-working and caring people that I know. Especially in this past year, with all the craziness of applying to colleges and coming closer to adulthood. You have been wonderful mentors and role models. Thank you for your endless love and guidance. ”
Buhr’s speech starts off on a sweet note, with a huge thank you to her parents for their love and support. Shortly thereafter, things take a unique turn.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. She Begins By Kindly Thanking Several of Her Teachers & Friends
Buhr takes the time to thank several of her favorite teachers at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, California. She appreciated their investment in students’ education and wellbeing. She calls them intelligent and inspiring, after which she moves onto thanking her friends.
“To my friends, thank you for always being by my side. I appreciate your love and support always and will treasure the memories we made at this school.”
One Twitter user said everyone should have Nataly Buhr as a classmate.
2. Things Take a Turn & Buhr Puts Her Counselor on Blast For Being ‘Unavailable’ & the School’s Main Office For Being ‘Negligent’
I read the speech about #sanysidro and that was pretty rough. Ms. Buhr, if you are reading this, thank you for such an honest speech. You truly did set an example on the problems of our school system.
#natalybuhr
“To my counselor, thanks for teaching me to fend for myself. You were always unavailable to my parents and I despite appointments,” she said. “Only in these past few weeks with the awards ceremonies and graduation coming up did you begin making you appearance. And might I note, you expressed to me your joy in knowing that one of your students was valedictorian when you had absolutely no role in my achievements.”
One Twitter user thanked Buhr for such an honest speech, which shined a light on problems in the school system.
“To the staff in the main office, thank you for teaching me how to be resourceful,” Buhr continued. “Your negligence to inform me of several scholarships until the day before they were due potentially caused me to miss out on thousands of dollars.”
According to her speech, Buhr was frustrated by more than just the lack of help with scholarship applications. When applying for a work permit, Buhr said the front office repeatedly turned her away, despite having confirmed with her employer and her parents that the paperwork was completed properly. She also said she had issues with staff members, which had to be brought all the way to an assistant principal.
3. Buhr Ends By Exposing a Teacher With ‘Alcoholism’
“To the teacher who was regularly intoxicated during class this year,” she said as the crowd roared. “Thank you for using yourself as an example to teach students about the dangers of alcoholism. Being escorted by police out of school left a lasting impression. I hope future students and staff learn from these examples.”
U.S. Senate Candidate Justin O’Donnell said that Nataly gave the commencement address we all wish we had the balls to do in high school.
“Thank you class of 2019…” Buhr said, but her last few words were hard to hear, as the crowd cheered over them, some giving her a standing ovation.
4. The School District is Very Upset
A spokesperson for Sweetwater Union High School District, Manuel Rubio, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that Buhr went off-script of her pre-approved speech, which was submitted prior to graduation day.
“We think that the student’s speech was inappropriate and out of line,” he told the outlet. “While we definitely welcome the concerns of students and their families regarding any situation at one of our schools, doing so in such a manner without any prior knowledge of this situation by the school, is not the right way of handling this. Ultimately this takes away from what should have been a day of celebration for the school and their community.”
5. Some People Were Unimpressed or Offended By the Speech
One user said to remember her name, as he thinks Buhr will continue to be “irresponsible” throughout college and into the workforce.
Can someone please teach this child that alcoholism is a disease and I’m sure the teacher didn’t choose to have an addiction simply to insult her? I will not praise this little girl for humiliating an adult with a sickness. #NatalyBuhr
Other users were upset about her remarks regarding the teacher with alcoholism. One user said she will not praise a girl for humiliating an adult with a sickness.
Another user said there are two entities at fault in this situation: the school for permitting addicts to be treated like criminals and Buhr for publicly shaming an addict. He says both are undeserving of praise.