Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 5-31-16 Online Edition

Class Of 2016
Students Overcome Variety Of Obstacles To Graduate
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Students attending high school in Hillsborough County can choose between traditional, charter or even virtual schools. But regard- less of the facility chosen, the student must be willing to apply himself in order to suc- ceed.
Sixty students who are members of the 2016 Gradu- ating Class earned their diplomas at West University Charter High School. Each student has his or her own story of overcoming obstacles in pursuit of success.
Ms. Theteryia Akins is the daughter of Ms. Tiffany Tisdale. The 20-year-old is graduating with a 2.5 grade point average.
Ms. Akins is a shining example of starting over after making bad choices. She began high school at Holly-
wood Hills High School, and elected not to apply herself. “I thought of school as a place to play and have fun and I started skipping class.”
Eventually, she stopped going to school altogether. As a junior, she moved to Tampa and enrolled at Wharton High School. But, things did- n’t go as planned.
At the end of 2014, she transferred to West Univer- sity.
Now, as she stands on the threshold of a new future Ms. Akins advises others, “Do it right the first time and don’t play around. Don’t give up and always push as hard as you can.”
At 18, Anthony Brown, Jr., felt he was wasting his time while attending Whar- ton High School. He thought about dropping out, but his Guidance Counselor sug- gested an alternative. “I was going to drop out and get my
GED.”
But, Anthony decided it
wouldn’t do any harm to check into an alternative school. Now, he said, “By the end of the week, I’ll be done with my classes and will grad- uate with my high school diploma.”
Anthony is the son of Ms. Mauva Lewis.
Atiya Lee Brown also dropped out of school. When she decided to return, she en- tered West University with a 1.9 grade point average. The 19-year-old is 10th in her graduating class and has a grade point average of 3.2.
The daughter of Ms. Marilyn Lee and Earl Brown, Atiya is a member of Calvary Tabernacle.
While in school, she was chosen as the Turnaround Student for 2016; High Honor Roll, and was active in the Student Council.
She plans to attend Saint
Leo University, where she will major in Experimental Psychology.
Dontavious Miyo said, “I’ve overcome so many things.” Dontavious had a car, but he was responsible for getting five other kids to and from school as well as to their extracurricular activi- ties. Additionally, he had a part-time job. He was helping his mother, Ms. Klee Ball, who worked long hours.
But, when his car caught fire, he dropped out just two credits short of what he needed to graduate.
The 18-year-old dropped out of school, not having transportation and lost his job.
But, he decided that he needed to obtain his diploma. Dontavious plans to join the military and pursue a great career serving his coun- try.
Ms. Eliesha Payne, daughter of Ms. Leslie Payne, plans to enroll at Kieser University after grad- uation. Ms. Payne said, “I’ve overcome the things that were holding me back, like
passing my exams. I’m ex- cited to be graduating and moving on with my educa- tion.”
She is not sure what the future holds, but will major in Nursing of Forensic Sciences.
Ms. Angel Washington
said, “the key to success is an education, but with success comes hardships.”
As a teenage parent, Ms. Washington found herself balancing school, work, and parenting. “Often I got over- whelmed, but I can’t give up on my education. I wouldn’t be able to encourage my son to finish school if his mom didn’t. So I let him be my mo- tivation to finish school and get a good job.”
Ms. Washington is the daughter of Ronnie and Pa- tricia Washington.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016