Nearly 1,500 seniors walked across the stage over the course of four MISD graduation ceremonies last month. Almost all of them were your typical teenage graduates, ready to begin their lives in adulthood. 61-year-old Teresa Ramirez was the exception.
“It was something I had always wanted to do, and now was the time to do it,” Ramirez said in a news release.
It was a return to Midland High for Ramirez. She was just a month away from graduation back in 1980, when life circumstances led her to drop out.
“I was working and going to school and dealing with personal issues at the time, and finishing school just wasn’t a priority,” she said. “I regretted it for years.”
A few years ago, Ramirez found out about Midland ISD’s effort to help adults return to school to receive their diploma. It turned out she was only one half-credit short of the requirement to graduate!
“The process was put on hold due to COVID,” Ramirez said. “That’s when I decided I wanted to wait until 2023 so I could graduate in the same ceremony as my grandson.”
Adult graduates generally accept their diplomas privately, or as a part of a small ceremony, but Ramirez made the decision to be a part of the big commencement ceremony Friday night.
“I definitely wanted to be a part of the whole celebration,” she said. “It was like I was finally in the position where I should have been 43 years ago.”
Ramirez says her accomplishment is already making waves in her own family. Her husband is now considering getting his high school diploma as well.
