First-Generation Harvard Grad Brings Parents To Tears When He Surprises Them With Singing Performance

A first-generation Harvard graduate brought his immigrant parents to tears when he secretly performed at his commencement. Bryant Valenzuela, 22, surprised Jaime, 51, and Patricia, 55—who moved from Mexico to Texas before raising their family—by taking the stage during a campus church event on graduation weekend. The couple had no idea their son, a keen singer, had been selected to perform. Raised in Ague Dulce Colonia outside El Paso, Bryant grew up first in an aqua-green trailer and later a home on the same plot—without a sewer system, sidewalks, streetlights, or dependable hot water. Those conditions, he said, shaped his drive. He earned early admission to Harvard with financial aid, crediting his parents’ “hard work, words of affirmation, and genuine belief” for his success. For the ceremony, he wanted the spotlight on them. His solo, “Para ti Papa,” honors parenthood and centers on a son telling his father how much he matters. As a lyric about a father’s pride in a child’s fulfilled dreams rang out, Jaime wiped away tears.