Evacuee students beat the odds and graduate
There is a wonderful success story coming out of HISD this weekend: among the 7,700 HISD high school graduates are 100+ Katrina evacuee students:
Travis Hill-Williams has always considered himself an optimist.
That attitude was put to the test in August when Hurricane Katrina forced his family to flee New Orleans and make a new life in Houston just as he was starting his senior year in high school.
But even one of the most destructive storms in history wasn't enough to dull his outlook, and he is about to graduate from Houston's Jones High School in the top 10% of his class.
"I consider it a blessing that Hurricane Katrina came. I met new friends. I hold them dear to my heart," the 17-year-old said. "It has been a wonderful experience even though it was in the face of catastrophe and disaster."
Hill-Williams will be one of more than 100 Katrina evacuees set to graduate this weekend from the Houston school district.
"They've hung in there and adapted to a completely different place," said Superintendent Abe Saavedra. "They stayed focused in their studies, made friends and became an important, integral part of our schools."
"We're glad they came," he said. "We've worked hard to give them a good education and a good start to the rest of their lives."
Inexplicably, the Chron is running the AP story, so let's visit HISD's website for more:
Madison High School —Lynell Thomas
Lynell said graduating from Madison on Saturday will be one of the highlights of her life after “days of mourning I thought would never end, unless it ended with death.”
“Children were crying with questions that mothers were unable to answer. And to see grown men with tears rolling from their eyes was unbelievable. Maintaining my faith in who I know brought me out of that misery has everything to do with my accomplishments,” Lynell wrote in an essay.
She stayed in a hotel during the storm “with not enough food, clothes, or water,” she said. When the hurricane hit, “the windows were breaking one at a time from the speed and harshness of the winds. The glass shattered everywhere. Nowhere to hide. Nothing we could do. We had no water to bathe, no lights to see, and no air to breathe for a day and a half. We could not get in touch with anyone because the telephone lines were down.”
Lynell eventually made her way to Houston , then went to Kentucky to stay with a sister before coming back to Houston and settling at Madison High School . “I was real scared when I came to Houston ,” she said. “I thought nobody was going to like me. But I never saw so many open-hearted and open-minded people,” she said of her experience at HISD’s Madison High.
Lynell will graduate from Madison Saturday morning as a member of the National Honor Society and ranked in the top 10 percent of her class. She will attend Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond , Louisiana , next fall and study to become a nurse anesthetist. “James Madison is the backboard for my success,” she said.
Scarborough High School¯Dalissa Robertson
Dalissa’s family was still mourning her 19-year-old sister’s death when Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans . Dalissa and her family were forced to abandon their home and spend four days on an interstate-highway bridge waiting to be rescued. A charter bus finally arrived and brought them to Houston .
Dalissa enrolled at Scarborough High School and has since become the school “sweetheart.” “The environment was so different in Houston , but there are so many wonderful people at this school,” Dalissa said. “I made a lot of friends.”
Dalissa lost her position as the captain of her school dance team in New Orleans when her school flooded, but she stepped up as the senior advisor for Scarborough’s dance troupe, choreographing their dance moves. Her determination and leadership helped her earn more than $10,000 in scholarships. She will attend Southeastern University in Louisiana this fall to major in entrepreneurship and eventually wants to open her own sports clinic/spa business.
“I’ve learned you never know what’s going to happen, but you simply can’t give up on working for what you want,” said Dalissa.
And don't miss this story from the Fort Worth Star Telegram about Lionel Smith, an evacuee student who now finds himself heading off to Texas A & M to play football, something he says wouldn't have happened had he stayed in Louisiana.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/26/06 02:17 PM | Print |
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