Graduation 2015

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CLIMBING every mountain Class of 2015 Sunday MAY 17, 2015

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Sunday, May 17, 2015

Class 2015 of

INSIDE

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Class of 2015

Maggie Mae Woodall Lanier Charter Career Academy

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Austin Passmore

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Nicholas Wheeler

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Lucas Deschamps

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Jakim Johnson

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Jack Lipold

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Tucker Pearson

Riverside Military Academy

Maggie Mae Woodall, 16, is an avid reader and upon graduation from Lanier Charter Career Academy she plans to attend the University of North Georgia.

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Eleni Vincent

Grad takes different, faster track

Chestatee High School

North Hall High School

West Hall High School

Gainesville High School

Lakeview Academy

Johnson High School

SCOTT ROGERS The Times

BY KRISTEN OLIVER

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Emily Straka

koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Flowery Branch High School

Maggie Mae Woodall, 16, found a home at Lanier Charter Career Academy.

Woodall transferred to the school two years ago after her prior school closed.

“My school shut down,” Woodall said. “I went to Jubilee Christian Academy in the Gainesville area. I didn’t really want to go to a big high school, so I came here.”

Woodall said she was also lured by the idea of being able to graduate early. At Lanier Charter Career Academy, students are able to set their own pace for learning, whether

Ellie Parker

Heritage Academy

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Zack Buffington

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Stephanie Uscanga

East Hall High School

Wood’s Mill High School

faster or slower, and model their education on their career and higher education goals.

Woodall said she was grateful for the experience she had at Lanier and its preparation for her future.

“The teachers were really nice and really helpful,” she said.

Though Woodall said she doesn’t have a favorite subject or intended college major yet, she’s an avid reader.

“I’ve read probably 50 of the books in (the library),” she said. “I’ll read a book in two or three days.”

She was also involved in several leadership roles at Lanier Charter Career Academy. She was a member of the Fellowship of Christian

Students and one of a select group on the School Improvement Team.

“It’s just trying to improve the school,” she said. “It’s mainly teachers and me and another girl, and we give them our input.”

Coming to Lanier Charter Career Academy wasn’t the first time Woodall found herself blessed with a new home. She was adopted by her parents, Margaret and Franklin Woodall, when she was 4 years old, after coming to their home as a foster child.

Now 16, Woodall is ready to move.

“I’m going to attend the University of North Georgia,” Woodall said. “I’m not sure what I want to major in yet, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Class of 2015

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Austin Passmore — Chestatee High School

Fondness for figures

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Not many high school seniors give up a portion of their lunch period to teach math at their old middle school.

But that’s what Chestatee High School senior Luke “Austin” La’akea Castillo Passmore does.

Passmore calls his middle school math teacher Betsy Brooksher “a big inspiration.”

“Because of her, I wanted to be a seventh-grade math teacher,” he said When Passmore was in middle school, Brooksher gave him extra brain teasers to challenge him.

“That got me really passionate about math,” he said. “And then, starting last year, I would be the one giving her class brain teasers.”

Passmore, whose Hawaiian name means “bright light,” is in the Renaissance Academy for Creative Enterprises at Chestatee. RACE is a dual-enrollment, experiential learning and mentorship program.

He was required to have a mentor, and he chose Brooksher of Chestatee Academy.

“I started doing a mentorship with her, and I really enjoyed that my junior

year, getting to know the kids,” he said.

“I liked it so much, I wanted to do it again my senior year.”

He goes to the middle school for his third and fifth period every day and helps Brooksher in the classroom where she once taught him. He even sits in on math teacher team planning meetings.

“It’s kind of cool, because the students all call me Mr. Passmore,” he said.

Though he has a passion for teaching, for now, Passmore plans to major in computational media at Georgia Tech.

“It’s like entertainment with apps and video games,” he said. “I want to work with video games, but I don’t know anything about that stuff. So I thought, ‘Why not study that?’ I don’t know how to program, but I’ll learn.”

While teaching middle school math isn’t in his immediate plans, Passmore said he does see himself teaching math down the road.

“I’ve realized, I really do enjoy teaching,” he said. “When I’m done adventuring into trying to become a video game designer, something I don’t know anything about yet, I might retire from that and become a teacher.”

‘I’ve realized, I really do enjoy teaching.’

Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

Chestatee High’s Austin Passmore stops by Chestatee Academy of Inquiry and Talent Development and chats with math teachers there. Passmore spends two class periods assisting his middle school math teacher, Betsy Brooksher.

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Class of 2015

Nicholas Wheeler — North Hall High School

16-year-old works his way into Harvard

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Nicholas Wheeler works a job, attends North Hall High School and was recently accepted to Harvard.

He’s also 16 years old.

“The secret really is all about having passion,” Wheeler said. “For me, my passion has always been for my work, for debate and for physics. I believe I articulated that well in my application essays to Harvard, but it doesn’t matter what you’re passionate about.

“You can be a passionate bug collector, and they’ll like that. That’s what you do that makes you special.”

That said, Wheeler seems a worthy future Harvard student. President of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics club, captain of the academic team and speaker on the debate team, his resume is already impressive. He also joined SkillsUSA and was on the Quiz Bowl team at his last high school.

Wheeler stays busy between teams and clubs, school and work, but he’s faced trials in his life as well.

He lived in Savannah until his father died in 2004. He moved to nearby Richmond Hill then later moved to Dahlonega.

Last year, the family moved in with his sister in Gainesville, and he started at North Hall this year.

“We live in her basement, but we’re doing just fine,” he said.

When his family moved to Dahlonega, Wheeler at 15 started working at GetUWired, an Internet marketing agency.

He’s now a marketing automation specialist for the company, working 30 hours a week.

“I work in a customer relationship management system called Infusionsoft,” he said. “I go in and set up these automated sales calls and email drop series, and make them work for people who have clients they like to market to.”

Though he’s only a junior, Wheeler will leave his job and his many clubs next year to pursue a degree in physics at Harvard.

“My plan is to focus on the introductory math courses,” he said. “When you’re coming from a public school in Georgia, well — Georgia has a decent education system, but it’s definitely not one of the best. I feel almost disadvantaged because I’ve had a single year of calculus whereas a lot of my counterparts going to Harvard from New York, Massachusetts, California and the bigger states will have already taken up to multivariable, complex, real analysis, that kind of thing.”

Otherwise, Wheeler feels ready for next year.

“I want people to know that, even if you don’t have the right test scores or just the right GPA, that won’t kill you,” he said. “If you try your best and make it work, there’s always something to be hopeful of.”

Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

North Hall High’s Nicholas Wheeler, 16, chats with secretary Beverly Buffington inside the school front office.

Wheeler was recently accepted to Harvard where he plans to pursue a degree in physics.

‘The secret really is all about having passion.’

Class of 2015

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Class of 2015

Lucas Deschamps West Hall High School

Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

West Hall’s Lucas Deschamps is interested in computers and already assembles, designs and repairs them. He is going to Northern Michigan University to study computer design. At right, Deschamps helps health science teacher Debbie King.

Student forging ahead with computer studies

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Lucas Deschamps holds a fourinch computer in his hands.

“This is a fully-functioning computer,” Deschamps said. “…

And it’s called a Raspberry Pie.” Deschamps, a senior at West Hall High School, is graduating in May and will attend Northern Michigan University to study computer science and engineering.

He’s already vastly knowledgeable in the field.

“You know how we have Windows and Mac?” he said. “Well there’s a smaller operating system called Linux. It’s an open-source operating software and it’s mostly used by programmers and people who want a more basic operating

system. I purchased it because I’m into programming.”

The Raspberry Pie, which Deschamps owns, was developed by college students in the United Kingdom. When he heard about their project, Deschamps wanted to see it for himself.

“I keep up with most new technology and I had to purchase this,” he said. “It was only $35 and it runs off of a micro-SD card.”

Between the $35 for the Raspberry Pie, the card and the wireless capability Deschamps purchased, he assembled a fullyfunctioning computer for about $55.

It runs off the power provided by a cellphone charger. It comes with a few programs and can be plugged into any television,

camera or monitor through four separate USB ports. A keyboard and a mouse can plug into the other ports, or all additions can be removed and the computer can slide into Deschamps pocket.

“It’s a very powerful unit for the price,” he said.

Deschamps said he’s been interested in technology since he was 9 years old. He’s always been interested in building computers and watching technological developments.

He’s preparing already for the move to Northern Michigan, which he called exciting but “a huge change in lifestyle.”

“It’s always been my ambition to grow up to be a computer programmer or computer engineer,” he said.

‘It’s always been my ambition to grow up to be a computer programmer or computer engineer.’

CLASS OF 2015

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Class of 2015

Jakim Johnson Gainesville High School

Community builder

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

After years of contributing to the Gainesville community, Jakim Johnson is ready to spread his wings.

Johnson, a senior at Gainesville High School, is planning to attend Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif., and study engineering, thanks to his time in the high school robotics club.

“I was the first freshman in the Gainesville Robotics Club, back when it formed,” Johnson said. “I was one of the founding members, and I’ve been with it ever since.”

Though his last season with the robotics club ended in February, Johnson credits the club as one of the most important activities he participated in during high school. And that’s a “long laundry list” of activities.

He was part of the Featherbone Communiversity as a junior and then joined Youth Leadership Hall County as a senior.

“Both of those were really neat experiences,” he said. “They were different, but they complemented each other. Communiversity is about sitting to listen to community figures, which was a good way to network and meet them. Then Youth Leadership Hall was about going out into the community and getting to know what we have here.”

He is also president of the high school’s Environmental Awareness Club, which leads recycling initiatives at the school and in the community.

He’s president of the Beta Club, which

leads volunteer activities.

“My club sponsor and I founded the food pantry this year here at the school,” he said. “It came to our attention that there were some students at school who the only meals they got were the meals they had at school. That’s generally OK during the week, but over the weekend they didn’t have anything to eat.”

Johnson said now, the handful of students who need food over the weekend get a packed bag of food each Friday from the Blue Skies Pantry.

He spends most summers working with Brenau University’s Rise Summer Camp Program, which is a six-week program for first- through fifth-graders in lower-income areas. It’s designed to help those students retain what they learned during the school year so they start the next year on track.

Even though he’s graduating from Gainesville High and preparing for a move to California, Johnson plans to spend his last summer once again with the program.

“I worked with them their first summer and this will be my third or fourth with them,” he said.

He won the Harvey Mudd College’s Presidential Scholarship, and said he’s looking forward to classes.

“I signed up for their summer institute, so hopefully I will start school in July,” he said. “I hadn’t always planned to go so far, and my mom feels like I’m running away from home. But I love the West Coast, and I loved the area and the campus.”

SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

Gainesville High senior Jakim Johnson will be taking the skills he gained from the school’s robotics club and applying them as an engineering major at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif.

‘I was the first freshman in the Gainesville Robotics Club ...’

Class of 2015

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CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2015.

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Class of 2015

Jack Lipold — Lakeview Academy

Engineering a military career

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Jack Lipold knows the meaning of hard work.

A senior at Lakeview Academy, Lipold plans to commit the next eight years to military education and service, including ROTC at Clemson University.

Lipold, 18, is the son of Jack and Martha Lipold of Clarkesville, who raised him a Clemson fan and instilled in him a respect and passion for the military.

“My dad was in the Marines, so I’ve been raised in a house where we respect that and enjoy it,” he said. “I hadn’t really thought about it too much, but I’ve never shied away from it either ... it became not just something that could help pay for (college) but a good thing to do with my life.”

He plans to study engineering

SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

Lakeview Academy’s Jack Lipold will be heading to Clemson University and will join ROTC there.

at Clemson and credits this interest to his Lakeview math and science teachers.

“Math and science have always been the main things I’ve done and been interested in, so that’s something I’d really like to do,” he said. “Being here since kindergarten, I’ve had a bunch of different math and science teachers. They’ve all helped me to really enjoy the subjects and to find a way to combine the two subjects into one field.”

Lipold said he doesn’t know yet how long he will serve in the military, but through ROTC he will have to serve at least four years of active duty after graduation.

“I’ll find out then if that’s something I want to continue as a career,” he said. “But I have an open mind right now, and I’ll find out when that time comes.”

‘My dad was in the Marines, so I’ve been raised in a house where we respect that and enjoy it.’

Class of 2015

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Tucker Pearson — Riverside Military Academy

Cadet earns prestigious spot at West Point

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Cadet Capt. Tucker Pearson is ready for the next step in his military career.

The senior at Riverside Military Academy will attend the United States Military Academy at West Point in the fall, after four years at Riverside.

“I’ve enjoyed meeting a lot of good people and meeting some of my closest friends here,” Pearson said. “I’ve enjoyed the chance to grow in different areas that you don’t get in a public school, and I’ve enjoyed missing some of the drama of a public school. We have our own drama, definitely, but you don’t have a big part of the usual high school drama. If I can avoid that, I do.”

Pearson said he first came to Riverside because of a lack of motivation at his Minnesota public school.

“It was really fun, but not what you’re looking for to get into a good college,” Pearson said of his old school.

At Riverside, Pearson was part of the Raider team, a Junior ROTC physical fitness competitive team, for four years. He was captain of the team his senior year, leading them to a national championship.

He was also on the track and swimming teams all four years, going to state every year for swimming and winning second in the AA division this year.

Pearson said the environment at Riverside and the campus itself are some of the things he will miss next year.

Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

Retired Sgt. Maj. Jorge F. Sosa of the Marines chats with Cadet Capt. Tucker Pearson at Riverside Military Academy. Pearson is primed for his military career’s next step into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

“This campus is awesome,” he said. “The facilities here are like nothing I’ve ever had before.”

He’ll also miss one individual in particular.

“I’ll miss my brother,” Pearson said. “He’s here too, in the 10th grade. I’ll miss him very much because he came the same year as me — he came as a seventh-grader and I came as a ninth-grader. I’ll miss him the most out of everything, but I am definitely ready to be done with high school and move on to the next chapter, to the real deal.”

For Pearson, that’s West Point. He’s considering a few majors, including defense and strategy, which would help him boost his rank in the military.

“If I want to go career, it’ll help me do that,” he said.

Pearson is also considering studying a language, which would help him get an intel position.

If he decides not to pursue a career in the military, he might study foreign affairs and international relations and go into business management.

That said, it is his intention to do this for life.

“The only reason I even consider the possibility of ever getting out is because everyone says you change your mind a thousand times,” he said. “So I’m accounting for that possible change. However, if you asked me to make a decision right now, it would be hands down a career in the military. I want to fight.”

‘I’ve enjoyed the chance to grow in different areas...’

Class of 2015

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Congratulations Class of 2015!

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Class of 2015

Eleni Vincent — Johnson High School

Vincent on board for Navy career

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Eleni Vincent wants to help others who haven’t had the same opportunities she had.

Vincent, who was adopted by her mother Tia Vincent at 11 years old from an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is usually “talking a mile a minute,” according to her mother.

She’s spirited and she’s grateful, she said, for the life she has.

“This is my opportunity,” said Vincent, a senior at Johnson High School. “This is my second chance. And he gave me life; God gave me this life, and it’s all about faith and waiting patiently. There is a lot of opportunity in the world.”

Tia Vincent adopted Eleni and her younger sisters, Eden, now 7, and Naia, now 13. Vincent said she didn’t know one word of English when she came to the U.S. While the clothing was similar to what was worn in Addis Ababa, the food and culture were vastly different.

“It was very difficult,” Vincent said. “I didn’t know anything, not the alphabet, nothing. It was very, very hard, especially trying to fit in. I would do crazy things just trying to fit in and trying to learn as much as I could.”

She remembers being given the “best smile award” in her first year in the states, because that’s the only way she could communicate with the people around her.

Vincent said, as a young teenager, she

Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

Johnson High’s Eleni Vincent wasn’t sure about her path after high school. She considered several options, including college and cosmetology school, but decided to join the U.S. Navy. became angry about her life in the U.S. She said Addis Ababa was a beautiful city and she had been happy at the orphanage, where she lived with her sisters and cousins and did the younger girls’ hair.

Eventually, she realized she had to let go of that anger.

“I knew if I wanted to be part of the place where I was now, I have to be willing to try,” she said. “I had to be involved with everybody else and be open.”

When Vincent began thinking about life after high school, she considered several options, including college and cosmetology school because she still loves to do hair.

But she’s decided, instead, to join the U.S. Navy.

“I’m here,” she said. “So why not give and why not help out? I want to be involved in something that is great.”

Eventually, she hopes to go to medical school through the Navy.

In Vincent’s mind, joining the Navy isn’t just about giving to others but doing something for herself as well.

“I will be doing something for me,” she said. “I want to accomplish something great, and then one day I can go back to Ethiopia and see my family there and say, ‘This is what I’ve done.’”

‘This is my opportunity.’

CLASS OF 2015

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Congratulations to the Class of 2015!

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Class of 2015

Emily Straka — Flowery Branch High School

Grad ready for life after high school, cancer

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

The last semester of high school has been a tough one for Emily Straka.

The senior at Flowery Branch High School, described by teachers and school administrators as “outstanding and inspiring,” was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January.

But she’s now cancer free and looking forward to life after the disease and after high school.

Still, she refers to life after graduation as “scary.”­ “Because I’ll have to start all over with college,” she said. “But it’s exciting as well.

I’ll really just be trying to get back into the swing of things.”

Straka, though officially cancer-free for two months now, will continue with chemotherapy treatments once every two weeks through July 3.

When she was diagnosed in January, the cancer was already stage four.

“I found out that it was very likely I had cancer on New Year’s,” she said. “When that was confirmed, it was just about making sure everything was OK. But it’s not been as bad as I thought it would be. I had a lot of people helping me out.”

Straka said the chemotherapy was physically demanding at first, but her body and mind have become used to it.

She’s still tired often, but she feels well.

“And I’ve had a lot of support from the community, from my teachers and my friends,” she said.

Straka, who will attend Agnes Scott College in the fall, said she loves reading and wants to go into publishing one day.

She’s planning to major in business and English.

In the kitchen at Straka’s house are books and figurines stacked under a massive map, stretching the entire length of one wall of the room.

When asked the significance of the map, Straka said it’s more than just decoration.

“I want to travel and I want to see things,” she said. “I want to go places.”

Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

Flowery Branch High senior Emily Straka was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma earlier this year. She continued with her studies and is now cancer free and heading to Agnes Scott College in Decatur.

‘I want to travel and I want to see things; I want to go places.’

Class of 2015

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Congratulations Class of 2015

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Ellie Parker Heritage Academy

Formed by faith

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Everyone at Lakewood Baptist Church knows Ellie Parker.

The senior at Heritage Academy in Braselton has been a member of the church her whole life and has volunteered with child care and summer camps.

“It’s been a big part of growing up for me,” she said. “My mom has always worked here, so the staff here is really like my family.”

Parker said she’s grateful to Heritage and her church for the Christian foundation in her life.

She said she’s glad to have attended a school where her teachers were free to pray at the beginning of class and everyone was open about their faith.

Students have half an hour for chapel time each day.

“We have small groups,

SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

Attending Mercer University is the next step for Heritage senior Ellie Parker, who practically grew up in church and has volunteered in the child care and summer camps for years.

worship and teaching,” she said.

“And I think it’s really helped me grow, not only educationally but also spiritually.”

Parker has also been prepared academically by Heritage, which has classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday and home school Tuesday and Thursday.

She’ll attend Mercer University in the fall on a scholarship.

“I got invited to a scholarship competition there,” she said.

“I ended up getting the Jesse Mercer Scholarship, which is not full tuition, but the next step down. It’ll take care of a lot of expenses.”

Parker’s eventual goal is to become a medical physicist, combining two of her passions.

“I want to combine what I love in science while being able to help people in the medical field,” she said.

‘ ...the staff here is really like my family.’

Class of 2015

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Zack Buffington — East Hall High School

East Hall senior faces life with a smile

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

East Hall senior Zack Buffington and his usual lunchroom friends give big smiles. Around Buffington, clockwise from bottom left, are Madison Brown, Shelby Clark, Kayla Jones, Sydney Kytle and Allyson Segars.

‘I love East Hall and all the people here.’

Zack Buffington is a happy, social, popular high school senior.

Everywhere he goes in East Hall High School, other students high-five him and call his name. He eats lunch every day at a table with five girls, who have been learning to speak his language.

Buffington has cerebral palsy, and he uses sign language to communicate.

“It has been great,” Buffington said through an interpreter of his time at East Hall. “I love East Hall and all the people here. You know, people might look down at East Hall, but in my opinion we’re at the top of the list.”

He said his classmates all “feel like family.”

“We are close,” he said. “It’s not just the family aspect, but the teachers are good. They help me and everybody with work and stuff, and they make sure everything is in order.”

Buffington said he’s grateful to his teachers for their patience. He said they always made sure he had time to get his work done.

He communicates with many of his teachers, classmates and administrators with the help of paraprofessional Tanya Clark. She said she’s proud of Buffington, who has one of the highest grade-point averages of this year’s graduating seniors.

“To me, that’s a great accomplishment considering all his challenges,” she said.

When asked his plans after graduation, Buffington said they include hunting, fishing, baseball and football.

He’s an avid sports fan and was the team manager for East Hall’s baseball team.

He also plans to attend Lanier Technical College.

The administration at East Hall helped him with his application, and they are helping him consider options for what he can study. He’s interested in data entry and statistics, particularly for sports.

Buffington said some people might not have expected him to excel in his education, but he’s grateful he had the opportunity to do so. He said he’s also grateful to God for his life and the people in it.

“When I was born, the cord was wrapped around my neck,” he said. “One year later, they found out I had cerebral palsy.”

He spent five years with Challenged Child and Friends and then went through elementary, middle and high school in Hall County.

“If I took time to thank all the people who have helped me, we’d be here all day,” he said with a smile.

Class of 2015

The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |

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Sunday, May 17, 2015

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Sunday, May 17, 2015

The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |

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Class of 2015

Stephanie Uscanga — Wood’s Mill High School

Daughter motivates mom to succeed in school

BY KRISTEN OLIVER koliver@gainesvilletimes.com

Stephanie Uscanga had several reasons not to graduate on time this year.

But despite losing her father unexpectedly and having a baby 16 months ago, Uscanga is graduating from Wood’s Mill High School with big plans for her future.

“If you really try, it isn’t that hard I guess,” she said.

“But Wood’s Mill had a lot to do with it. That school is just something else. The people there aren’t your teachers, they’re like family.”

When Uscanga gave birth to her daughter Emelie Alexandra Flores, she said her teachers were there to help her.

“They would come here to help me with my school work,” she said. “You don’t see a lot of schools do that.”

Uscanga began at Wood’s Mill in her junior year, after finishing her first semester at Gainesville High School with all A’s.

“It was so I wouldn’t get behind in school,” she said.

“But as soon as I entered, everyone had all these options for me. I could stay at home with the baby and do it here, or I could go there and have regular classes. What they did with me was I did a little of both, whichever was more helpful for me.

“That’s what I really appreciated, because sometimes I couldn’t get a baby sitter.”

Emelie, who has a bright smile with a couple of tiny

teeth showing, is a shy, happy child, according to her mother.

“She likes to hold onto me a lot,” Uscanga said. “She likes to play and be outside, interacting with everything.”

Uscanga shows a picture of her father Alejandro, who died from a heart attack at Christmas. He was 45.

Emelie gives Alejandro’s picture “besos,” or kisses.

“It was sad and it was hard,” Uscanga said of her father’s death. “But it happens. It didn’t stop me going to school.”

Uscanga said her daughter has never been a distraction from her education. If anything, she’s a motivation.

This summer, Uscanga will begin applying for jobs at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. She hopes to save money and go to school to become a teacher.

“My mom was a teacher and it was so much easier for us,” she said. “We learned ahead of other people, because she already had the experience and had us learning. Now, my daughter learns faster because of her, and I want to do that do.”

Uscanga said she thinks people can find an excuse to give up on something, but she never did.

“Sometimes, people will do anything to quit,” she said. “But that’s not the way to go. Even now, my mom keeps telling me, ‘You have to keep going. You have to keep going.’ And I’m not going to get a job at McDonald’s to raise my little girl.”

SCOTT ROGERS | The Times

Stephanie Uscanga reads to her daughter Emelie Alexandra Flores recently as she prepares to graduate from Wood’s Mill High School in Gainesville. Following graduation, Uscanga will begin applying for jobs at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. She hopes to save money and go to school to become a teacher.

‘Sometimes, people will do anything to quit. But that’s not the way to go.’

Class of 2015

The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |

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Sunday, May 17, 2015

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