FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — At an event hall in Farmers Branch, high school graduate Maya Veliz got up to give a speech at her very own, private, "mock" graduation ceremony.
"I stand before you tonight under different circumstances," she told her family and friends.
WFAA first introduced Maya to viewers in April, after her father, Jorge Veliz reached out to our station. Shortly after she was announced as valedictorian at her high school in Blue Ridge ISD, the district told Maya there'd been a miscalculation, she was not valedictorian.
Maya could no longer give her speech or receive the state college scholarship awarded to students first in their class.
After our original story aired on Maya, she said many of her classmates taunted her. Feeling embarrassed and isolated, she skipped graduation, which is why her parents organized her own private ceremony.
But one WFAA viewer saw Maya's story and wanted her to know her hard work was worth something.
"It's crazy how much a story can impact people. But I’m so thankful it impacted the right people," she told WFAA at her mock graduation.
"He said, you know I’ve seen what you’ve done, I know you can do more," she explained.
That man not only showed up to Maya’s private, mock graduation, but he also brought a gift. He offered to pay for her entire first year of college tuition.
That generous donor asked WFAA not to interview or even identify him. It's not about him, he said, just the lessons Maya's learned.
"I have learned that no one achieves anything alone," she told her family. "I know now more than ever I will be capable of conquering anything."