MCKINNEY, Texas — Larissa Martinez has spent most of her life hiding her status as an unauthorized immigrant from her classmates at McKinney Boyd High School. But she worked for years to earn a platform for her big reveal.

Martinez, who is heading to Yale on a full scholarship, shared her family's story during her valedictory address at the school's graduation ceremony last Friday.

Fewer than a dozen people knew Martinez's secret before thousands heard her speech. She said she wanted to raise awareness that unauthorized immigrants are "trying to do it the right way, but we don't know how" because of a broken immigration system. Martinez has been waiting seven years for her citizenship application to be processed.

"The most important part of the debate and the part most often overlooked is the fact that immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, are people too," Martinez said. "People with dreams, aspirations, hopes and loved ones. People like me."

Martinez moved from Mexico City on a tourist visa six years ago with her mother and little sister for a better life, away from her abusive and alcoholic father.

Immigrants "have become a part of the American society and way of life," Martinez said in her speech. She said they "yearn to make America great again without a wall built on hatred and prejudice."

Martinez received a full-ride scholarship to Yale through QuestBridge, a program that matches high-achieving students from low-income families with selective schools.

She said she decided to reveal her status at graduation because she realized it might be the only time she could talk to a large crowd and make a difference. She said it was part of her motivation to do well in school. She has been ranked No. 1 since she was a freshman.

"I would think and be like, 'You have to keep going because that's what you're going to get to do in your speech,' " Martinez said Thursday. "I could tell (peers) one-by-one, but I feel like a lot of people would listen more because I was standing up there."

In her speech, Martinez said, "I am one of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of the United States."

Social studies teacher Scott Martin said he and Martinez began talking about her speech years before she took the podium in a red cap and gown.

"I told her, 'If you're valedictorian, I want you to get up there, and I want you to say a speech that's not traditional,' " said Martin, who taught Martinez for three years at McKinney Boyd. "I said, 'I have so much hope that you'll tell everyone everything.' "

Three weeks before she gave the graduation speech that received a standing ovation, she brought Martin a draft. He held back tears as he read it at his desk.

"I know this is a political issue," said Martin, who was unable to attend Boyd's graduation. "I just wish people would understand the teacher's perspective. When these students walk into our classroom, we have to love and teach them like any other student. When I see students from not much do so much, it blows me away."

So far, Martinez says, she hasn't heard negative comments because of her speech, but that she knows they're probably coming.

"I know who I am and I know who my family is, so honestly nothing they can say can make me feel bad," Martinez said. "It makes me sad to hear the ignorance in the comments and the racism because I thought that was over in America, so I guess not. It makes me sad to think people actually believe those things they say."

Martinez said in her speech she is most thankful for everything her mother, Deyanira Contreras, has done to get her where she is today.

"While parents metaphorically move mountains for their children, you literally moved countries for my sister and me," Martinez said. "Every sacrifice you have made has been for us. That's why everything I do, I do for you."

When she came to the U.S. in 2010, Martinez realized education would help her and her family, especially if she got into a school such as Yale. She found out she received a full ride on Dec. 1 and withdrew her applications to other schools.

The summer before seventh grade, she had just arrived in Texas and read a lot of books from the library, she said. When school started, her summer reading helped her, and within a month she advanced from English as a second language classes to regular English classes and then to Pre-AP English.

"Because of the support of my family, I've always liked school. And at that point I realized school was the only way I could stand out and make something of myself one day. That gave me even more fuel to keep pushing towards that," Martinez said.

She felt that some of her peers at school would set lower expectations for her, so she had to "push harder and let them see that I can be better and I'm not what they think," she said. Some of her friends were undecided on the topic of immigration in the U.S. When she got to know them better, she would reveal her status.

"I'm not what they would think they would be based on stereotypes," Martinez said. "It feels good to have finally said it and know there are people out there who watched (the video) and are inspired about it."

The topic of immigration would sometimes come up in class, and Martinez said she did not shy away from it.

"I stood up for it enough that people could tell, but I think it's worth it," Martinez said. "It's worth standing up for."

Martinez has faced struggles being unauthorized, such as having to take the train to Yale rather than fly. It's a three-day trip, but she decided it was a better option than flying after hearing about a Harvard student who was threatened with deportation when he flew to San Antonio.

Martinez said she doesn't think her speech will have a negative impact on her Yale experience because the campus climate and students seem to be accepting.

"They don't have to agree with me, and that's okay," Martinez said. "I feel like it will be more of a respectful environment, for sure."

Martinez hopes to become a neurosurgeon and wants to continue to be active in political movements for immigration reform. Her involvement with the medical field will also be a platform for her to help make sure patients aren't turned away because of their immigration status.

She says her mother, who works at a restaurant, has rheumatoid arthritis and has had trouble getting medical treatment.

"Honestly I want to save lives, and I feel like there's not a better gift you can give than give them more time with their loved ones."