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Graduates of Colonial Beach and Washington & Lee high schools
-REZA MARVASHTI/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place |
With determination and perseverance, young people can make it through tremendous trials and distinguish themselves--just as these recent high school graduates have done.
Today, the Free Lance-Star wraps up its series of profiles on the Class of 2012, highlighting students from Colonial Beach and Westmoreland. Each was nominated by school administrators for enduring despite obstacles during their high school years.
We congratulate them and their classmates for staying the course.
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WHAT HE OVERCAME: Scott's family moved to New Orleans five days before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005. They evacuated to Alabama, where Scott's mother soon died of a heart attack. He moved to Spotsylvania with his father and younger sister the following month. They have bounced around the Fredericksburg region since, and now live in Colonial Beach. IN HIS WORDS: "I just kept looking forward. You can't change the past, right? You have to accept what it is and learn from it." WHAT'S NEXT: Scott will join the Army National Guard, and hopes to have a career in aircraft systems engineering and maintenance.--Jonas Beals WHAT SHE OVERCAME: Ali was diagnosed with stage-three melanoma at the end of her sophomore year. Her junior year was spent in surgery and chemotherapy sessions, which ended as her senior year started. It was a difficult time, and her grades suffered a bit--she got a solitary "B," the lowest grade of her high school career. IN HER WORDS: "I felt like I was alone, at first. It wasn't true. I had my teachers, family and friends behind me. I realized how much of a support system I had." WHAT'S NEXT: Ali will attend Christopher Newport University, and hopes to major in mathematics.--Jonas Beals ALI JONES, WASHINGTON & LEE HIGH
SCOTT LEE, COLONIAL BEACH HIGH
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