LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — A cancer survivor, who has become a radiation therapist, delivered her valedictorian speech on Friday at Keiser University’s Lakeland Campus.
Candice Wallace’s journey to becoming the valedictorian of her class wasn’t an easy one.
Her story starts at Advent Health.
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” she recounted. “When they told me post-surgery that there’s a malignancy, I had been so disconnected from the medical field.”
“My family that was waiting for me to come out of surgery was crying,” she continued. “I’m like, ‘I’m fine; I’m OK.'”
“I had to call my husband,” Wallace remembered. “I said, ‘They said there was a malignancy, can you google that and tell me what that means?'”
“I had no idea that I actually had cancer,” she said.
On Friday, she walked the stage cancer free.
It’s a journey she said dates back to her last day of treatment.
“On my last day, I felt so sad,” she shared. “You might expect I’d be overjoyed that it was finally over, but instead, I thought, ‘I’ll miss the camaraderie of the other patients.'”
“Being around people who truly understand your experience, who have endured the same challenges, made me ask, ‘How can I — how can I do this?'” Wallace explained. “How can I continue to connect with patients on a deeper level?”
The president of Keiser University’s Lakeland campus, Karen Steverson, said Wallace’s story embodies the university’s mission.
“We like to watch people change their lives,” she said. “Tonight is one of our favorite nights.”
“It’s graduation, so we get to watch them walk the stage,” Steverson continued. “It is about changing one life at a time. “
Wallace had a final message for anyone who’s ever asked themselves, “Is this too hard?”.
“Let this be proof that you can do hard things,” she exclaimed. “You can rise from pain.”
“You can create something beautiful out of brokenness,” she concluded. “Indeed, you can complete that degree, even if it takes coffee, tears, and faith.”
