Photo by: Christina House / For The Times
Miracles do happen and at USC (University of Southern California) on Saturday 12/13/08, 170 at-risk teens, including young mothers, juvenile camp inmates, troubled students were awarded their high school diplomas and congratulated by keynote speaker Magic Johnson.
Teens prove adversity doesn’t have to impede education
What a great moment for these young adults, it goes to show that if you really want something; that something can happen. Here is a quote from the article:
Keynote speaker Magic Johnson told the teens that he had faced down adversity, and they could too.
“Magic Johnson grew up in the ghetto. Six sisters, three brothers. I went to bed hungry at night. I grew up poor, but I didn’t have poor dreams, I didn’t make excuses,” he said.
He urged them not to let any obstacles or perceived shortcomings hold them back.
“It’s no longer about the color of our skin — President-elect Obama proves that,” he said. “It’s not about your ZIP Code. I proved that.”
“No, it’s about you,” he said, “carrying on, moving on, believing in yourself, that you can achieve and do great things.”
That’s a message that resonated with Jasmine Saucedo, 18. After she gave birth to her son, Andrew, nine months ago, the Wilmington teenager didn’t know how she could finish her education and work full time. She signed up for independent study and still managed to do her schoolwork after putting in eight hours a day at a refinery in Carson.
“I want to show [my son] that even though people make mistakes, you can still pull yourself up,” she said.
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