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Graduation 2005

Seniors beat graduation obstacles

Two Central High students overcome challenges like a language barrier and the loss of both parents to receive their diplomas tonight with the rest their graduating class.

By LOGAN NEILL
Published May 27, 2005

	[Times photo: Maurice Rivenbark]
	Just days before the start of the school year, Carlene Donovan, 18, moved in with her older brother Frank Donovan and her sister-in-law, Denise Donovan, right, after her father died of a heart attack at the end of her junior year. Her mother had died of cancer eight years earlier. She will graduate with a 4.33 weighted grade point average.
	[Times photo: Edmund Fountain]
	Miguel Chamorro, 18, of Spring Hill, came to the United States two months before finishing the eighth grade. Tonight Chamorro is graduating from Central High School.

BROOKSVILLE - The more than 330 graduating seniors gathering tonight at Central High School's football stadium will listen as faculty and staff members, invited guests and peers laud them for their achievements the past four years. They will be praised for their dedication and perseverance. But there will be talk of the future as well, and the importance of self-reliance and independence toward attaining goals in life.

For two Central High grads, Carlene Donovan and Miguel Chamorro, life has already offered some unique challenges.

Donovan, a bright and pretty 18-year-old, never figured life would ever be anything but smooth sailing. A year ago, she was an A student enjoying the final days of her junior year in a comfortable home she shared with her father and younger brother in Pearl River, N.Y. One afternoon she got a call telling her father had suffered a heart attack and had been taken to a hospital. He died a few hours later.

Donovan, who had lost her mother to cancer eight years earlier, had no one else to turn to. An aunt offered to take her and her brother in, but after a few weeks, the teen realized that it wasn't working out. She turned to her older brother Frank, who lived in Spring Hill, for help.

"I was really grateful because at that point, I really needed to be around people I loved and cared for," said Donovan, who moved in a few days before the start of her senior year. Although her brother was supportive, Donovan knew that nearly every important decision in her life from that point on would be solely up to her.

"Having to trust your own judgment isn't something a lot of kids have to face in high school," Donovan said. "But when you don't have any other choice, you learn to accept it."

Donovan excelled at school, finishing the year with a weighted grade point average of 4.33. And though she was accepted at the University of Florida, finding a way to pay for college was a challenge.

With the help of her guidance counselor, Ruth Owen, Donovan was able to convince the state that she met Bright Futures residency requirements. When she wasn't busy working her part-time job or volunteering as a counselor for Head Start, Donovan spent much of her free time filling out scholarship applications.

"Carlene carries herself so well," Owen said. "When you think of what she's gone through, the weight she's been forced to carry, it's amazing that she has such an optimistic attitude. She's one of those kids you don't have to worry about. She's going to be a success."

There can be little doubt that Chamorro, too, will achieve success in life. Since immigrating to Spring Hill from Puerto Rico five years ago, he has managed to overcome many hurdles with dignity and humility.

Since he spoke very little English, school proved to be a daunting challenge for Chamorro. In class, he would watch his teachers' faces intently while they spoke in the hope of connecting what few English words he knew to the lessons being taught.

By the time he reached Central High, he had mastered enough of the language so that he needed very little assistance from his teachers. A solid B student, Chamorro began to think he might achieve his dream of becoming the first member of his family to attend college.

"Miguel worked so hard at it," guidance counselor Sue Issacson said. "He would stay after school and work one on one with his teachers. And, of course, they were happy to help because they knew that Miguel had so much drive to succeed."

Life away from school had its own share of struggles. His older sister, Estella, was the family's only breadwinner, who supported the family of five on her $19,000 salary. So Chamorro pitched by working part time as a babysitter.

"I realized that it was my responsibility to take care of my mother and sister," said Chamorro. "I needed to do well in school so that someday life would be better for us."

Chamorro was chosen as the county's recipient for the Ronald McDonald Charitable Foundation's HACER scholarship for Hispanic students. He further solidified his desire to someday study medicine by applying for and receiving several other scholarships as well.

"I've always loved science," he said. "I'd be very happy to work in biology or in chemistry."

This fall, Chamorro plans to enroll at Pasco-Hernando Community College, but first, he wants to find a summer job.

"I want to do more for my family," he said. "They have allowed me the opportunity to get what I wanted - an education - and now I need to give something back."

Logan Neill can be reached at 352 848-1435 or lneill@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 27, 2005, 00:40:18]