Valedictorian blasts ‘alcoholic’ teacher and ‘unavailable’ counselor in graduation speech

Graduation is a milestone event for all high school students – and one valedictorian used the special ceremony to blast her school’s staff, slamming a teacher for being ‘regularly intoxicated’ and her counselor for leaving her to ‘fend for herself’. 

Nataly Buhr, a senior at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, opened her speech thanking the school, her parents, and a few teachers for being ‘invested in the students education and well being’ on Thursday June 6. 

But then her speech took a sharp turn and she attacked the school staff for being negligent and failing to do their jobs. 

‘To the teacher that was regularly intoxicated during class this year, thank you for using yourself to teach these students about the dangers of alcoholism. Being escorted out of school left a lasting impression,’ she said 

Nataly opened her speech thanking the school and her parents before taking a sharp turn and attacking her unhelpful counselor, negligent staff, and an alcoholic teacher

‘To my counselor, thank you for letting me fend for myself – you were always unavailable to my parents and I despite appointments,’ she said to the shock of the crowd

‘To the teacher that was regularly intoxicated during class this year, thank you for using yourself to teach these students about the dangers of alcoholism. Being escorted out of school left a lasting impression,’ she said

Students covered their mouths with their hands and gasped in shock at her bold speech

‘To my counselor, thank you for letting me fend for myself – you were always unavailable to my parents and I despite appointments,’ she said. 

‘You expressed to me your joy in having one of your students be valedictorian when you had absolutely no role in my achievements,’ she added. 

‘To the staff in the office, thank you for teaching me how to be resourceful. 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,’ she said. 

‘To future students and staff – learn from these examples,’ she closed her speech as the students exploded in uproarious applause, many covering their mouths in shock her unexpected criticism. 

Nataly’s mother Monica says she’s proud of her daughter’s poignant message. 

‘I was proud that she spoke up and got it out. It is something that takes a lot courage to do,’ she said.  

‘To the staff in the office, thank you for teaching me how to be resourceful. 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,’ she said

‘To future students and staff – learn from these examples,’ she closed her speech as the audience burst into applause

Nataly says she’s received positive feedback from her startling speech

She was a student at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, California 

Nataly is defending her comments saying she felt compelled to shed light on what was really going on. She says she’s received mostly positive feedback from her controversial speech. 

‘In the beginning I recognized and thanked those who I believe went above and beyond for the students. I understand that those I criticized may be facing personal issues, but I don’t think that should affect their commitments or the school’s responsibility to fulfill those commitments. I didn’t expect for change to come from my speech, but I was hoping it would encourage more students to speak up,’ she said to KHOU. 

The speech came as a shock to the school and Sweetwater Union High School district says they’re not commenting on her specific allegations of the alcoholic teacher and negligent counselor. 

‘It’s unfortunate that the words of a student like this are taking away from the positive. There are a lot of teachers working very hard for our students it’s unfortunate that she decided to air grievances,’Manuel Rubio, spokesperson for the Sweetwater Union High School District, said.