High School Graduate at 35
At 35, she earned her high school diploma, deferred by turbulence and tragedy.
If she can do it, you can too!
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Yesenia Perez (YP) grew up in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, one of seven siblings. Her mother moved the family to Puerto Rico when Perez was 8, then back to Philadelphia when she was 12.
CHILDHOOD
Moving around was disruptive and YP was restless. Between language barriers and other issues, she had to repeat three grades. “There was too much going on, my mom was traveling back and forth. It messed me up,” said YP.
TEENAGE PROBLEMS IN SCHOOL
By the time she graduated from middle school, YP was 16. She briefly attended a public high school, then switched to an alternative school for overage, under-credited students. But it didn’t last. YP, by her own admission, was a ‘handful ‘ – she fought and didn’t care much about schoolwork.
“I argued with all the teachers. I had a super temper. I just didn’t want to be told what to do. I wanted to be my own boss. I had my school file that was full of pink slips from stupid stuff that I did,” YP said.
One of her former school principals recalled about YP: “She was one of my difficult students to deal with. That’s being kind. I once had to escort her out of the building because she was so disruptive.”
CHALLENGES WITH LIFE AWAY FROM SCHOOL
At age 17, YP decided she was finished with school when she met the man who would be her children’s father. “I just wanted to stay in the street, and I decided I didn’t need no (sic) education,” she said.
(Editor’s note – (sic) means the editor recognizes improper grammar or other type of mistake but decided to leave the quote uncorrected to retain its authenticity.)
YP gave birth to three children: Javier, Nathan, and Maylanie. But YP lost 4-year-old Javier when he picked up a gun that his father thought was hidden in the house and accidentally shot and killed himself.
As a result, the boy’s father went to prison for nine years on charges of involuntary manslaughter.
The loss of her oldest child sent YP “out of my mind. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat. The situation I was going through was unbearable.”
It took nearly losing Nathan and Maylanie to the child welfare system for YP to get herself together with the help of her mother and her sisters and intensive mental counseling.
“My kids made me strong,” said YP. She tried to go back to school to earn her GED, but the program wasn’t a good fit for her schedule and her mental makeup at the time. So, she moved to Ohio for a fresh start, then returned to Philadelphia to be closer to her family and to Javier’s gravesite.
YP’s personal life started to get better in 2022 when her husband came home from prison, enrolled in trade school, and graduated into steady work as an HVAC technician.
A cousin of YP had experienced success at ‘One Bright Ray’, an alternative education program in Philadelphia that allows nontraditional students to earn diplomas.
Nathan and Maylanie were getting closer to high school themselves, and YP wanted to set a good example. So YP took a chance and enrolled herself. Every day, she would drive her kids to school, work as a personal-care assistant, then drive from her home in the Northeast to where One Bright Ray had its night school.
“It was something that I always wanted to do, but I couldn’t – life just hit me,” she said. “But now I think that me coming back to school was meant for me,“ said YP with a smile.
GROWING INTO A LEADER
Teacher Sally-Ann Naidoo saw something in YP the moment she walked into her English class. This was a student who was perceptive, smart but above all, hardworking. At first, YP may have lacked confidence, but she did not lack determination. “Yessy would tell me, ‘I don’t know if I can do this, I don’t think I’m doing it right,” the teacher recalls YP saying. But “she would strive to do better every day.”
After years away from school, YP was hungry for knowledge. Her son teased her that she was too old for high school, but she found herself growing into a leader. Whatever YP could volunteer for, she did: organizing a Hispanic heritage celebration, winning the student council president role, running a school store to sell snacks for people rushing from work to school without time to eat dinner, helping older students navigate technology challenges.
“Coming to school, it was like free time, away from reality – bills, rent, husband, kids. I get to come here and learn with people that I actually build relationships with. It’s kind of awesome,” she said.
Throwing herself into high school at age 35 was a revelation. One Bright Ray students are close, she said, and they and staff had worked together to create traditional school moments she never had as a teenager: a prom – she and her husband attended in coordinated red outfits – and a senior class outing to an Italian restaurant.
“I’d never been to a restaurant like this,” she said. “I had to sit there classy, like with a napkin. It was decent for me, like a little fantasy.”
PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
Following her high school graduation, YP plans to become a notary public. She’d also like to work for One Bright Ray, helping other older students adjust to school after decades away.
One of YP’s teachers said, “She is a problem solver, inclusive and kind, someone her teachers admire.
SATISFACTION
“All of the school’s students, who range from teenagers to middle age and beyond, are resilient,” said the school principal. “But YP is unique, an inspiration. She’s full of service, with a big heart. Other students look at her and say, ‘If she can do it, maybe I can do it.”
“I want my kids to look at their parents and say, ‘We came from a struggle and look at where we are now,” said YP.
This story is based on a news article written by Kristen A. Graham, published by The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper on November 23, 2023.
