A piece of paper had never meant so much to JHS senior Leslie Cruz.
Enduring four months of Hospital Homebound teleclasses did not stop her from it. Neither did suffering from years of chronic, acute pain. For nothing was going to prevent Cruz from walking across the stage at the Palm Beach Convention Center and receiving her high school diploma. And on Thursday, May 24, she did just that.
"I figured that if I could just graduate and go to prom, it would make it the best year ever. And nothing was going to stop me from doing those," Cruz said.
She had been suffering from back pain and headaches, and when the pain became too great, Cruz was forced to become homebound at the beginning of February 2007.
Before her withdrawal, the four-year member of JROTC competed on the Drill Team and was a staff assistant for the S-5 in the program. She was also active in the JHS marching band in which Cruz was pit section leader. "I'm going to miss the drum line. We've formed such intimate bonds. Whether it be personally or musically, if one person says a word, everyone knows exactly what it means," Cruz said.
She plans to attend a college with a strong foundation in American Sign Language, as she wants to pursue a career as an ASL interpreter. She said the University of Tampa and Palm Beach Community College are both options.
"(Cruz) is so strong-willed," said her older sister Sasha, who graduated from JHS in 2006. "I'm very proud of everything she has done. She's going to change the world someday,"
Another now-graduated senior Yasmany Dominguez (who finished with a 4.4 honors point average) took six Advanced Placement classes this year, tallied 929 community service hours during high school and was a member of the Health Occupations Students of America club and the marching band. Much of his volunteering was done at Jupiter Medical Center, where he brought food to the elderly. "I liked learning about them (the patients) and their problems. It helped me learn a lot of medical terms," Dominguez said.
Starting in the fall, he is attending the University of Florida as a pre-med student and plans to earn a Master's degree after completing undergraduate school. "I'm going to miss seeing everyone I grew up with, but I'm really excited for college," Dominguez said. "I'm looking forward to having more freedom and greater academic challenges at UF."
During the summer, some seniors are going abroad before heading to college. For instance, Dana Ramirez is traveling to Europe with 19 other JHS students and a few chaperones including her AP English teacher Donna Kelber. During the three-week trip, some of their stops include England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria and Holland. "I like learning about different cultures and seeing new places," Ramirez said.
Aiming for a career in international business, she plans on attending ELON University in North Carolina for its highly-regarded study abroad program. Ramirez was president of the photo club, a member of the Key Club and general manager of JHS's literary magazine "Inkwell."
Her most memorable experience was attending the powder puff game. "The seniors really united there," Ramirez said. "Everyone had a lot of school spirit, and it really brought everyone together before moving onto college."
Held on Thursday, May 24, this year's Project Graduation theme was "That's a Wrap" and took place in the JHS gym. The attending graduates enjoyed games, food and a live DJ.