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Graduation 2006

Student heading in a new direction

A young mother earns an award for bringing her grades up and turning trouble down.

By MATHEW WASSERMAN
Published May 23, 2006

SPRING HILL - Walking the stage for graduation might be sweetest for those students who thought they might not ever get a diploma.

At Nature Coast Technical High School's ceremony tonight, 17-year-old senior Violet Squires will most likely glide across the stage, thinking about the 1-year-old daughter who puts the air under her feet.

Violet won the Turnaround Achievement Award for Nature Coast this year after running the grade-ladder from bottom to top.

"It basically means I was struggling in my academic career, but then made a turnaround for the better," she said. "In ninth and 10th grade I was getting F's and D's; in 11th grade I got D's and C's. This year I'm on the honor roll."

Violet said she hit the low point of her life in ninth grade, when her grandmother died.

"I started skipping school and hanging out with the wrong people," she said. "I guess I was just looking for love in all the wrong places."

In the summer after her sophomore year, her perspective changed again - when she became a mother herself.

"When my daughter was born, I realized I had to provide a better future for her," Violet said. "I knew I would need a good job and a good education is the best way to get there."

She credits the faculty and staff at Nature Coast with helping her - both in and out of school.

"I could always go to some of my teachers for help with my problems," she said. "They just listened to me and helped me."

Teen parenting instructor Pat Lonegran was one of the teachers Violet relied on.

"We have a great staff here," said Lonegran. "We've helped her as much as we could, and she's made an amazing turnaround."

Violet's daughter will be 2 next month. Once uncertain about her own future, the teen is now confident that she and her child will do well.

"I got into Webster College," she said. "I think I'm going to get an associate degree in criminal justice, but I'm not sure. I want to do something in the legal field. I like debating. I'm always arguing with my mom; maybe I'll be a lawyer."

Mathew Wasserman can be reached at Mat65432@aol.com

[Last modified May 23, 2006, 08:45:05]