January 21, 2021 | Jeffrey Good
During the first part of her high school career, Samantha Mendoza wanted to be anywhere but in class. She’d skip school to spread out a towel at the beach, roam the mall with other teenagers, spend the money she earned as a grocery store cashier on new clothes or the latest phone.
“I was slacking,” she acknowledges. “I would want to be hanging around with my friends.”
During her junior year, she dropped out. And in years that followed, her life changed in big ways — particularly when her son, Jael, was born a year and a half ago. At age 19, she enrolled at St. Lucie Acceleration Academy in hopes of re-engaging in her studies through an individualized curriculum.
On January 21, 2021, she strode across the stage to claim her diploma — and her place as the 1000th graduate of Acceleration Academies, a network of nontraditional high schools that partner with St. Lucie and other public school districts around the country.
Samantha says she’s glad she hung in there, and not only to lay the groundwork for her own future. She also wants to provide an example for her baby boy.
“I want when he grows up for him to see that I have a high school diploma and he can have one, too,” says Samantha, who recently turned 22.
Samantha is one of three children of parents who immigrated from Mexico in hope of building a better life. Neither her father nor her mother graduated from high school, but her older sister did — and Samantha came to realize that a diploma was the key to her going on to higher education and building the career she hopes for in cosmetology.
She struggled with some subjects, particularly math, but says that she found the flexible schedule and one-on-one coaching at SLAA — both onsite and remotely — helped her push past those obstacles. She singled out special education coach Dave Caso for supplying her with steady help and encouragement.
“He’s always helping me with my lessons, telling me, ‘Good job. Keep up the great work,’ ” she says.
Also instrumental was Angela Gilmore, the graduation candidate advocate who became her cheerleader-in-chief. That support became particularly important after Jael was born and Samantha faced long hours in being a new mom completing her studies, and working as a cashier at the Garcia grocery store, and taqueria.
“She never stopped,” Gilmore says. Samantha would come to the academy site early in the morning and then continue reaching out for help via Zoom calls from home. “She said, ‘I want to earn this high school diploma. I have to have it.’ ”
Like a growing number of her classmates, Samantha hails from the large Spanish-speaking community in St. Lucie and neighboring counties. Her job at the store allows her to immerse herself in her family’s native language, cuisine and culture — and to earn money for food, baby supplies and the Honda Accord she now takes pride in owning outright.
Now that she has her diploma, she hopes to learn the skills to work in cosmetology, moving out of her parents’ home and into one of her own. “That’s what I’m planning for, to have my own place.”
In earning her diploma, Samantha joins a group of students across the country who have realized a dream many once thought out of reach. And what advice does Acceleration Academies’ 1000th graduate have for others who might follow her path?
“Just do the work,” she says. “Just follow your dream.”