'Your sacrifices were worth it': Graduate mum's touching tribute to parents
A university student’s touching tribute to her hard-working parents has gone viral.
Erica Alfaro’s parents worked 10-hour days, seven days a week picking strawberries so she could become the first person in her family to graduate university.
Ms Alfaro, 27, wanted to thank her parents for their support, helping the teen mother graduate with a master's degree from San Diego State University.
Ms Alfaro decided the best way to honour her parents was to take photos in the fields where they worked tirelessly to provide for her.
The images of Ms Alfaro in her cap and gown, standing with her stoic parents went viral after she posted them on social media.
“Your sacrifices to come to this country to give us a better future was worth it,” she posted.
Ms Alfaro told NBC she felt the photos resonated with people because ‘many feel identified’.
The path to graduation has not been easy for Ms Alfaro.
She dropped out of high school when she fell pregnant at 15 and after escaping an abusive relationship, her son, Luis, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Ms Alfaro told ABC News she knew she had to make a change the night the father of her son forced her to sleep outside with her baby.
“That is the night I decided to go back to school,” she said.
She credits her parents, who can’t read or write, for showing her how important it was to get a university education.
“My mum took me to work with her in the tomato fields and I remember she told me, ‘This is our life, the only people who have a good life are the people who have a good education’,” Ms Alfaro said.
Ms Alfaro also said she was inspired by her son.
“He will have a better future, he will have more opportunities and I will be there to tell him that it is possible” She told ABC 10.
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