First-Generation Graduate Thanks Immigrant Parents Who 'Sacrificed Everything' for Her Education

A young woman whose parents left Southeast Asia to find “a better future” in the US thanked them for their sacrifices on April 22, as she graduated from the University of Redlands in California.

Debbie Ly told Storyful that she wanted to honor her parents on commencement weekend and acknowledge their “unwavering love and support.”

In video recorded by her boyfriend, Ly can be seen gifting her mother and father pieces of her graduation attire, while herself wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress.

Ly said that her mother and father, respectively from Laos and Vietnam, worked their entire lives and did not get the opportunity to attend college themselves.

“Higher education has always been their top priority for me,” she said.

She uploaded the emotional footage to Instagram, where she wrote, “This is not just my graduation, it’s ours.” Credit: Debbie Ly via Storyful

Video transcript

- Right.

DEBBIE LY: But I wanted to thank you for putting me through school.

- OK.

DEBBIE LY: And this is for you.

- Oh. Thank you. How about mom?

DEBBIE LY: Mom gets the gown.

- Oh, OK.

- I'm proud of you.

- Oh my God.

DEBBIE LY: And I know you put me through school, and it was really hard. And I thank you for all the sacrifices you made.

- You're welcome.

DEBBIE LY: Thank you.

[CRYING]

- Ah, Debbie.

- Right.

DEBBIE LY: But I wanted to thank you for putting me through school.

- OK. OK.

DEBBIE LY: And this is for you.

- Oh, OK. How about mom?

DEBBIE LY: Mom gets the gown.

- Oh, OK.

- I'm proud of you.

- Oh my God.

DEBBIE LY: And I know you put me through school, and it was really hard. And I thank you for all the sacrifices you made.

- OK. You're welcome.

DEBBIE LY: Thank you.

[CRYING]

- Ah, Debbie.