Graduation
The crowd at the Plano Senior High School graduation ceremony could not believe their eyes when they witnessed a student with autism take the microphone on stage and deliver the graduation speech. In this photo, students graduate during a ceremony held for 3,768 master and 898 doctorates being given out at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, July 18, 2007. Getty Images/ China Photos

When Anna Ocegueda graduates from the University of California, Merced, this year, it will be not only a powerful moment for her but also for her family, and for the thousands of people who identify with her story. Her recent tweet thanking her parents has generated lot of buzz online.

Ocegueda, 22, is the daughter of migrant farm workers from Mexico and as one of five children, is the first in her family to graduate from a four-year university. This weekend, she receives her bachelor’s degree in psychology wih a minor in Spanish. Her parents have been working in the Orange Grove area for the last 25 years, picking seasonal fruits. In a photo shared earlier this month, Ocegueda in her graduation robe is seen standing alongside her farmer parents wearing their work attire. The post was captioned, “Por ustedes y para ustedes,” which translates to "because of you, and for you,” NBC News reported.

Ocegueda took the picture as part of an assignment for her global art studies class that required students to use art to address a social issue. She wanted her parents to wear their typical work clothes to illustrate how her parents’ dedication and determination lead her to her success.

“Knowing they’re out there working in the hot sun kept me going and doing it for them,” she told NBC News.

Ocegueda never expected the tweet to go viral. The post racked up more than 16,000 likes and 4,000 retweets over the week. She is overwhelmed with the response. “I expected to get some likes from my friends and people I know in the Central Valley,” Ocegueda said. “I didn’t expect to get reactions from other people. I woke up the next morning and there were so many notifications on my phone. I had to mute my Twitter notifications because they were blowing up my phone,” reported The Fresno Bee.

She believes that people relate to her situation because many of them understand the difficulty of parents who are working difficult jobs to support their families.

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