Ernesto Hernandez’s Second Chance at Diploma Was a Lesson His Mother Knew All Too Well
For Anabel Hernandez, earning a high school diploma has never been “just a piece of paper.”
She knows firsthand what it can mean to have an education interrupted, but also what can happen when someone believes in you enough to encourage you to keep going.
Anabel was 10 years old when she immigrated to the United States from Mexico. She had to learn a new language and build a life in a new country. It wasn’t easy, but she and her family did it.
Then, at 18, while she was still in high school, she became pregnant with her first son.
“I was this close to dropping out of high school,” Anabel recalled.
But, her mother encouraged her to finish.
She did. And decades later, Anabel is now celebrating another milestone that once seemed uncertain: her son Ernesto’s high school graduation.
“I am really proud of him,” she said.
Ernesto, who turned 21 in August, didn't leave high school because he was struggling with his classes. He says he was passing his coursework.
Instead, his education was interrupted when his attendance suffered while he helped care for his grandfather, who had been diagnosed with cancer.
Ernesto's grandfather owned a business selling car-wash chemicals and laundry detergent, and Ernesto helped him run it while also trying to attend school.
“It was important monetarily,” Ernesto explained. His grandfather still had a mortgage, household bills and hospital expenses to pay.
Eventually, juggling school, work and helping care for his grandfather became too much for Ernesto and he began missing more and more school.
Then, in 2024, his grandfather passed away.
For Ernesto, the loss was devastating.
“That’s when he started literally not going to school at all,” Anabel recalled.
She tried to help him move forward. She talked with school administrators, encouraged her son to return to school and even helped him explore adult education.
But nothing seemed to stick.
“He was just like, ‘Why should I?’” Anabel said.
Then, in early 2026, he discovered Clark County Acceleration Academies.
The program's online coursework and flexible schedule caught Ernesto's attention right away. He reached out to learn more and enrolled around February 2026.
While he had just four credits left to earn, finishing them wasn't always a straight line and balancing work and school wasn't easy.
But, he kept going. And he didn't have to navigate it alone.
His Graduation Candidate Advocate, or GCA, was there to answer questions and help him stay on track. He also found support from his teachers when he needed it.
By the time he turned 21, Ernesto had completed his remaining credits and earned his high school diploma.
Even though Ernesto was already an adult, Anabel felt connected to his progress, too.
She appreciated being included in messages from his GCA and being kept informed about how he was doing.
At one point, Ernesto was only a few days away from a deadline and wasn't responding to messages. His GCA reached out to Anabel.
Anabel called Ernesto's older brother.
“Hey, you need to talk to your brother,” she told him.
The family intervention worked.
For Anabel, moments like that demonstrated something important about Acceleration Academies.
“You guys really do that extra step, that extra mile for the student for them to graduate,” she said. “It matters a lot.”
She also appreciated that the program treated Ernesto as an individual, not simply another student moving through a system.
“It’s not like another number,” she said. “You guys really care for students to really achieve that diploma.”
Anabel understood the importance of Ernesto earning his diploma long before he did.
She remembered her own mother's encouragement when she was 18 and considering leaving high school. She also thought about how her education had shaped the opportunities available to her later in life.
“If I didn't get my diploma, probably I wouldn't be able to have this job that I have right now,” she said.
That's why she has repeatedly encouraged her own children to finish school.
“I don't want you to regret later in life that you don't get a job or opportunity because you didn't get a high school diploma,” she tells them.
Now, Ernesto is already seeing what opportunities a high school diploma can look unlock.
He has been offered a position above his current role at work — an advancement that he says probably wouldn't be possible if he didn't earn his diploma — and is excited about the possibility of moving up.
“I think with me having this position ... I can make a little bit more,” he said.
For Ernesto, graduation isn't the end of the story. It's the beginning of what's next.
Even after completing his credits, Ernesto wasn't sure he wanted to attend his graduation ceremony.
His mother didn't give him much choice.
“You have to go,” she told him.
For Anabel, the ceremony is about much more than watching her son receive a diploma.
It's about seeing him finish something he once walked away from. It's about remembering the difficult years their family experienced after Ernesto's grandfather became ill. And it's about honoring the lesson her own mother gave her decades ago: Keep going.
When asked what he thinks his grandfather would say about his graduation, Ernesto believes he would be proud.
And when Ernesto walked across the stage at Clark County Acceleration Academies' October graduation, he carried more than a diploma with him. He carried the story of a family that kept encouraging him to move forward, and the proof that a second chance can lead somewhere new.
For Anabel, that makes the moment especially meaningful.
“For me, it's an achievement, like a goal for you,” she said. “For me it's such a big deal.”
Clark County Acceleration Academies partners with Clark County School District to offer an alternative high school option for students who could benefit from a hybrid learning experience that offers more schedule flexibility.