More than 1,300 seniors at Greenbrier, Lakeside, Evans and Harlem high schools received their diplomas Saturday at James Brown Arena, and some of them beat the odds to walk across the stage.
Two years ago, Lakeside graduate Kristen Asmann was a new mother and a high school dropout.
Her daughter, Jaden, now 22 months, was born the summer after her sophomore year, and she skipped her junior year to stay home with her baby. She later changed her mind about school.
"I decided a GED wasn't good enough for me," said Ms. Asmann, 18.
She returned to Lakeside in the fall to take a full load of classes. She also took six online classes and three night-school courses, completing her junior and senior requirements in a year.
She made all As, said Dorcas Powell, Lakeside's graduation coach.
"I wanted to prove to people that just because something happens in your life, it doesn't have to stop you," said Ms. Asmann, who will attend Georgia Military College.
Evans High graduate Matt Watson, 17, also had to make adjustments to graduate with his class.
Three weeks ago, he didn't know whether he would finish high school. He had to pass an online course in geometry -- a subject he had failed twice -- during the second semester.
Matt said he had ignored his teachers when they told him his freshman and sophomore years would affect his junior and senior years.
He even spoke to rising ninth-graders this spring to pass along the advice he had disregarded.
"If I could go back and start over, I definitely would," said Matt, who plans to attend Augusta State University in the fall to study business. "But you can't change the past."
Reach Betsy Gilliland at (706) 868-1222, ext. 113, or betsy.gilliland@augustachronicle.com.
INSIDE TODAY
The Augusta Chronicle salutes local scholars in our Best & Brightest special section, celebrating the graduating classes of local high schools and making special note of students who, through academics and extracurricular involvement, rose to the top of their classes.
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Comments
Congratulations Graduates! You are special because you took control of situations that seemed almost out of control. Keep reaching, the best is yet to come. These kinds of stories are not usually told about Columbia County students, but it goes to show that neither struggle or success are confined to a county line.
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