Liberty High students conquer challenges, meet goals
Baby blue mortarboards flew through the air as parents cried tears of joy and Liberty High School graduates hugged one another in celebration Thursday morning.
As Queen’s “We are the Champions” played in the background, relatives and friends of 158 students posed for photos at Hutchins Street Square following the ceremony.
Many had overcome more obstacles than teenagers should have to face, but the pride on their faces was obvious. Several, including Patrice Aviles, accepted their diplomas in one hand and held babies in the other arm.
“I studied really hard and I focused, because I really wanted to prove everyone wrong — that I could have a baby and still graduate,” Aviles said after the ceremony.
She not only met her personal challenge, but even managed to graduate a year early.
Before coming to Liberty, Many of the students went to elementary and high schools in Lodi, then found themselves falling behind and wondering if they’d ever graduate.
That’s what happened to student speaker Elsa Cintora, who recounted her story for the crowd that numbered in the hundreds.
She had slacked off in her studies, fallen behind in her credits and realized too late that there was a problem. The worst part, she said, was the knowledge that her failure hurt her parents.
“They wanted to save me from working in the hot fields and the pouring rain,” she said. “They wanted a better life for me, and I almost let them down.”
The other recipient of the scholarship, Nikki Godwin, also had her own story of struggle and triumph.
She left home at the age of 15 and began living on her own and working full-time. Her mother’s attempts at making her attend school had failed.
Then Godwin met a teacher at Liberty who made the difference. Godwin began attending school, and her mother was there Thursday to see her receive a diploma.
“Three years ago, I never would have guessed this would happen,” her mother, Randi Hanson, said. “She would never have graduated if it hadn’t been for this program.”
The scholarship was a surprise, but it will help Godwin’s future studies at San Joaquin Delta College. She’s still working full-time at McDonald’s and is now in a management training program, her smiling mother said.
“She did it all on her own,” Hanson added.
Many other proud parents withstood warm weather to watch the graduation, and many had balloons, flowers and were capturing the ceremony with cameras and camcorders.
Bassen Mashni put his 7-month-old daughter in her stroller, bought some flowers and maneuvered into place so he could film his wife as she received a diploma.
Nearby, Sondra Ladner watched her nephew, Eli Brown, graduate, and she said it was definitely worth the flight from Orange County. She was overjoyed to hear loud cheers when Brown walked across the stage, even though he was new to the Lodi area.
“It makes me feel so good for him, because he’s only lived here a little while but has made so many friends,” Ladner said.
Other parents came from out of town, including Dean Jobe who traveled from Yosemite.
“I drove for three hours just to see her graduate,” he said, grinning at his daughter, the last of his three children to graduate.
Among the parents was soon-to-be grandmother Estella Velazquez. Her daughter, Terry, is due to give birth to a boy today, and both were relieved that the baby didn’t decide to arrive earlier.
“I was so worried. I said, ‘No, you have to wait so I can get pictures,’” Estella Velazquez said as she snapped more photos of her daughter.
Terry Velazquez continued her schoolwork through morning sickness and managed to walk across the stage Thursday, despite having swollen feet that barely fit into her shoes.
Her mother then turned to her and said the words that numerous other graduates were also hearing: “I’m very, very proud of you.”
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.