INTERBAY - The rolling of the eyes. Hands on the hip. The attitude.
Robinson High School assistant principal Jacqueline Allen knew this student had issues. La'Trese Epps sat in her office time after time.
But Allen, who has 30 plus years in education, also knew Epps had potential. She had good grades, but "my mouth always got me in trouble," said Epps, 18.
In her freshman year, Epps fought a fellow freshmen - a boy - in the school cafeteria. She does not remember what the argument was about, but he pushed her, she said.
She shoved him back. The price: five days suspension.
It was not her last.
Teachers sent notes to Allen's office. Epps talked back to adults and got into an altercation with another student and refused to back down.
"It was my way or no way," Epps said.
But in her sophomore year, Epps joined the Female Mentoring Club, which Allen started at Robinson about 15 years ago.
During monthly meetings, Allen could see Epps was "vocal." She just needed to "fine tune her social skills," Allen said.
Another thing she noticed: Epps was a natural leader.
During charity events to teach sharing Epps excelled at planning. She helped organize Christmas toy drives and gift baskets for the needy.
"She had it in her all the time," Allen said.
Still, there was the attitude.
For that, Allen needed to employ the "Allen Method."
Straight talk. Popping up, like a ghost, into Epps' life unexpectedly - in the hallway, at lunch.
Allen also doled out pearls of support: "You're a lady. Respect yourself." "Look at the clouds. You can soar." "Don't let the world define you."
She nominated her for the Turnaround Award.
At first, Epps thought Allen was mean and feared she would complain to her parents, a medical representative and a surgical technician.
Then, Epps realized: "She refused to let me fall."
Epps graduates Tuesday with Beta Club honors and will attend Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach this fall. She wants to be a journalist.
Her most recent article in the school newspaper, Knight Writer, was titled "Unforgettable Moments."
"While you're in school nothing seems more important than trying everything in your power to get out," Epps wrote. "What's funny is how after you receive your diploma and go off to college, all you seem to think about is being back in high school, hanging out with your friends and acting silly all the time."
