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A wheelchair-using student shocked his parents Friday by walking across the stage at a Florida high school graduation ceremony.
Keith Grieser, a 22-year-old student at Seminole Ridge High School, hadn’t walked since of the age of 8. But with the help of a school paraprofessional, he toiled for months to build up the strength to walk – without telling his parents, who were in the audience at for the graduation ceremony at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Keith had already graduated in 2012 even though the school district says he continued to receive academic and health services from the school. His 18-year-old brother, Kyle, was there to receive his diploma.
During the ceremony, Keith sat onstage in his wheelchair, waiting for his brother’s name to be called.
After his brother came onstage, Keith shocked everybody by standing up and walking (with the help of a specialized walker) across the stage.
The stirring moment was captured by the Education Network, a television channel operated by the Palm Beach County School District.
Students and school district officials burst into applause as Keith made his way across the stage.
“We thought maybe he was just going to give Kyle his diploma,” his teary-eyed father, who is also named Keith Grieser, told The Education Network. “But to see him walk…..”
Keith said the triumph taught him a lesson: “You should never give up on the things you want to do.”
(Mobile users can click here to watch.)
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