Immigrant & mother of three goes back to school, earns her high school diploma through FCUSD Adult Education program
For many of our students, life circumstances interrupted their journey to a high school diploma when they were younger. However, it is never too late, as 92 new adult high school graduates can confirm; each with a unique story to tell.
One of our newest graduates balanced going back to school with the busy life as a mom of three children.
Raquel came to the United States from Mexico as a young child. Early years in her education were interrupted as her family moved back to Mexico then returned to the United States when she was 14. She completed ninth grade, then dropped out of school to help her family financially by going to work. As a determined young woman, Raquel got a job at Hewlett Packard and earned her US citizenship in 2004. She didn't stop there. It took some time, and several attempts, but Raquel earned her high school diploma at our Adult Education school this May with the support of her teacher Kerry Marini and principal, Rhonda Balmain.
According to her teacher, "Raquel started with a lack of confidence in her ability to finish school, but soon her hard work made her realize that she could achieve this, and then nothing was going to stop her."
Next stop for Raquel is college. She is enrolled in classes at Folsom Lake College through the Promise Program, with plans to transfer to Sac State to pursue a degree in accounting.