For Marisol Soto, who is 50 years old and has Mexican roots, graduating from high school means she’s a step closer to achieving her dream of going to college. Being in a ceremony wearing a cap and a gown felt surreal to her.
Soto stopped studying when at 17 she got pregnant, and her parents wouldn't let her go back to school. But the pandemic gave her time to reset, and remote classes were ideal for her.
There were nights she cried because she didn’t understand the assignments, especially math. But she was motivated to do something for herself instead of just for her kids. Soto says her granddaughter is proud of her.
“When I put on the hat, she made me cry. She said, ‘Grandma, you look so good. I am so proud of you!’” Soto said with tears in her eyes.
Soto graduated from My Turn, a program that works with the city of Manchester to provide equivalency diplomas for those who have not finished high school. According to JW Williams, who oversees the high school equivalency program, people from all backgrounds graduated this summer.
“We have students who are single parents, homeless people, refugees, or people who have been incarcerated. Many do not realize how smart they really are,” said Williams.
This was the program's first ceremony since it opened during the pandemic. Soto liked the remote classes but when they returned to hybrid classes, studying with much younger kids seemed a bit strange.
“I acted like their mother in class, but they adored me; they called me ‘mom,’” said Soto.
To be a paralegal, Soto will start classes at a community college in Nashua this fall.
My Turn students can go at their own pace. It may take them years or a few months to graduate.
That suited Jerany Arroyo from Puerto Rico, who is 23 years old.
She dropped out of high school in ninth grade but decided it was time to return. She says she wanted to be independent, but after years of working in retail, she says she wanted more.
“I wanted to work, have my house and my car, and I thought that's what I needed at that time,” she said.
Arroyo has a 4-year-old daughter, and as a mother, she says doesn't feel that she can ask her daughter for a diploma without having one herself.
“I am doing this for me but also for my daughter’s future and her kid's future one day.”
