Students Overcome Challenges To Graduate

Leslie Silva, 18, laughs as she carries her son, Noah Mauricio, 18 months, outside her home in Springdale. Silva was 16 when Noah was born and went through many challenges, but is getting As and Bs and ready to graduate from Har-Ber High School and hopes to attend the University of the Arkansas.

Leslie Silva, 18, laughs as she carries her son, Noah Mauricio, 18 months, outside her home in Springdale. Silva was 16 when Noah was born and went through many challenges, but is getting As and Bs and ready to graduate from Har-Ber High School and hopes to attend the University of the Arkansas.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

SPRINGDALE — Leslie Silva thought she was sick. Instead, she said, she was 15 and pregnant.

While Silva, a graduating senior at Har-Ber High School, struggled to cope with a pregnancy, two other Springdale seniors were dealing with anxiety, drug issues and constant moves. They all overcame their problems and graduated high school Saturday.

At A Glance

Arkansas’ Youth

Adolescent Pregnancies in Arkansas (2010)

• Younger than 15: 76

• 15-17: 1,435

• 18-19: 3,794

Drug Use Among Arkansas High School Students (2011)

• Marijuana: 33 percent

• Cocaine: 2 percent

• Inhalants: 13 percent

Source: www.hhs.gov

Silva said she felt light-headed, tired and nauseous, and saw a doctor. She waited a day before telling her parents she was pregnant. She was the most nervous about telling her father. 

“I didn’t want to disappoint him and I know I did,” Silva said.

According to Silva, her problems began before she became pregnant.

Her grades dropped when she was a sophomore because she skipped school, Silva said.

“I just didn’t care,” Silva said.

Pregnancy is a reason many teenage girls drop out of high school, according to the Center for Disease Control website. For Silva, however, her grades went up after has son was born, she said, because she wanted her son to see her as a role model.

“I want him to be proud of me,” she said.

She got A’s and B’s in all of her classes during her last semester of high school, Silva said. To do so, she said she had to change her classroom habits.

“You’re not going to get A’s by not paying attention,” Silva said.

She plans to go to NorthWest Arkansas Community College in the fall and become a nurse. From there she hopes to go to the University of Arkansas and become a nurse practitioner.

“It’s going to take a while, but I’ve wanted to go into the medical field since eighth grade,” Silva said. “So my mind’s set.”

Her dedication for her future is only rivaled by her dedication for her son, she said.

Silva said she got up early to take her son to day care. After work at Braum’s, she said she put her son to bed then did her homework before getting some sleep herself.

“I think most girls think it’s easy, but it’s not,” Silva said. “It was hard not staying home with him.”

Overcoming Anxiety

Andrea Caballero said she almost dropped out of school when she was 16.

It started with anxiety attacks, said Caballero, a senior at the Alternative Learning Center. She said she felt panicked for no reason.

“I couldn’t even get out of my house,” she said. “It was that scary.”

She was given medicine, Caballero said, and she decided to make herself go to school. On her first day back, she walked into the classroom only to run back out. She kept trying, however, and eventually it got easier.

Her school life started going downhill again when she started skipping classes and fighting, Caballero said. She was suspended from school at one point.

“I was really aggressive,” Caballero said. “I did what I wanted.”

Then, Caballero said, she got her first job at Sonic. The job helped with her anxiety because it made her communicate with customers and co-workers.

“I learned manners there,” she said.

She transferred to Springdale’s Alternative Learning Center shortly after starting her job at Sonic, Caballero said. It was around that same time when she stopped cussing, fighting and smoking marijuana, she said.

“We expect the kids to be good citizens,” said Paul Griep, center administrator.

Students with anxiety, such as Caballero, generally do well at the center because the classes are smaller, Griep said. The smaller classes also help students have better relationships with their teachers, he said.

“She’s come here and matured and really has blossomed,” Griep said of Caballero.

Caballero said her whole attitude changed. She started to think more positively, she said.

“My life changed,” she said. “Life pretty much taught me a lesson.”

Caballero said she plans to go to NorthWest Arkansas Community College. She will be the first person in her family to go to college, she said.

“I want to be the first one to prove them wrong,” Caballero said. “Not only my parents, but everyone who thought I couldn’t do it.”

Nine Schools

Moving from high school to high school was normal for Mathew Bolinger, a senior at the Alternative Learning Center.

Before the center, however, Bolinger said he attended nine high schools because his mother was in the Navy.

While living in Jacksonville, Fla., he made friends who held him back, Bolinger said. A lot of the time, he said he didn’t go to school because his friends would skip class.

“The way your friends think is more than likely the way you’re going to think,” he said.

A move to live with his girlfriend and her parents led him to the Alternative Learning Center, he said.

“We get kids from all walks of life,” Griep said. “Our kids have complex lives.”

Griep said he wants the center to be a place where students feel safe. He wants them to gain hope for the future, he said.

“I’d like this to be a haven for the kids to get away from the daily challenges that they face,” he said.

Bolinger said he will attend NorthWest Arkansas Community College in the fall. He hopes to become a dentist.

He said he feels like he’s a few steps ahead of other people his age because he’s seen a lot and traveled a lot.

“I’ve seen it all,” Bolinger said. “I’m pretty grateful for everything that’s happened.”

There will always be challenges in life, Bolinger said, but it’s how you deal with them that defines you.