Feature Story

2008 TPA Better Newspaper Contest

First PlaceD2

Odessa American

A mother’s burden Kermit teen overcomes challenges to top her class BY F.A. KRIFT KERMIT — Maybe Dalia Carina Mendoza should be quietly honored for her No. 1 rank in the Kermit High School senior class. But guess what? Not a chance. She earned the academic reputation — earned this attention fair and square; earned it despite two words that when put together typically spell academic doom. Teen. Mother. Just 17, Carina looks every part of her, age — heavy black eyeliner, painted on jeans and one perfectly placed bang falling in her face. She's a teenager no doubt. She has strong will, independence and determination, her friends said. She also has Jysel. Jysel is 2 years old. She's cute in her tiny pigtails and big brown eyes. She likes to hug her mommy and sneak one more sugary Popsicle than allowed. Jysel's presence is what makes Carina different and how she defied the odds against her. More than 40 percent of teens who begin families before age 18 never complete high school, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Carina was 14 when Jysel was born. She breastfed during lunch her freshman year. She-dealt with poopy diapers, breast pumps and baby food. Yet she'll graduate a year early. STAYING ON TOP All the while, she earned A’s — lots of them in fact. She had only one final grade below a 90 average in 28 courses. Carina's resolve makes teachers proud. She's attentive, carries a 5.1 grade-point average and wants everything that she can earn. "She's one of those who makes you want to go the extra mile," her chemistry and anatomy teacher Chris Evans, said. Still, Carina might know all the episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants as well as she knows the periodic table. "I don't think anybody gets to be a kid forever," she said. "I get to be a kid all over again." And a grownup, too. In Carina's eyes, Jysel accentuated her teen experience. She made her more determined to graduate early and make something of herself. "You become aware," Carina said. "You have to. Now you have somebody to take care of." Adilene Quiroz knows how impressive it is that Carina has maintained her academic standing. Like her good friend Carina, 17-year-old Adilene as a baby. Elias is 4 months old. Adilene unfortunately dropped out of school when he was born. Carina is encouraging her to get a GED. "It was a big surprise. We were always in the (gifted and talented) classes," Adilene said. "No one expected us to do anything like that." DETERMINED BUT HELPED Carina's tenacity has led her fight to be honored as the valedictorian, a distinction that will likely escape her because early graduates are ineligible, according to school district officials interpretation of a policy. But Kermit district Superintendent Santos Lujan supports Carina's achievement. "This young lady faced a tremendous hurdle in her life, and she did manage to overcome that," he said. A stable home life helped Carina. She was lucky her parents, Arturo and Maria Mendoza, supported her even after she said Jysel's father wouldn't. They allowed her to quit her part-time jobs and focus on her daughter and academics. Maria Mendoza cared for Jysel when Carina was at school. Jysel calls her mom, too. And Arturo Mendoza is the father figure Carina wants her daughter to have. "I'm glad I can share him," she said. And with the support the goals only get bigger as Carina looks to the future. EARNED DISTINCTION Equipped with a $20,000 scholarship from the Barbara Trenchard Foundation, Carina will be the first person in her family to attend college. She plans to study nursing at Texas Woman's University. Who knows? Maybe she'll be a doctor some day as well. It wouldn't surprise Evans, her chemistry teacher. Her success in no way should condone teenage pregnancy, but consider the early-life predicament she put herself in. Carina's more than another cast-aside pregnant teen with only a 2 percent chance to graduate from college by age 30, according to a national statistic. She's two words that a high school educator wants to call every kid. Gifted. Mature. For Jysel, she's only one word right now — mommy. "For her to become somebody in life, I have to become someone first," Carina said. That day has already come.