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BLOOMINGTON – Breanna Gamez almost dropped out of high school.
The 17-year-old, who now lives in Beeville, got pregnant when she was 16, Breanna said bluntly. After Breanna Leigh Banda was born on Oct. 12, 2007, the baby kept getting congested to the point that she couldn’t breathe.
The turmoil of having a baby in and out of the hospital made the new mother’s senior year difficult. She joined the Bloomington High School homebound program, but she was having trouble understanding class materials.
In addition to caring for an infant, Breanna bore a heavy heart because her father kicked her out of the house. Her mom had long ago moved away.
“It hurt me emotionally. My dad was my best friend,” Breanna said. “He was everything I had.”
One day, she called Principal Jerry Brem and said school was just too much with a sick baby. But Brem pleaded with her not to quit. They would work something out.
The solution was OdysseyWare, where Breanna could complete her coursework over the Internet. Her boyfriend, 18-year-old Ernest Lee Banda, hooked up the Internet in the home they now share. Gamez, who missed interacting with her friends and classmates all year long, finally stepped into the high school to slip on her green graduation gown.
“It was difficult, but I finished with his help,” Breanna said about her principal. “He gave me my cap and gown.”
Friends Elizabeth and Kathy Rodriguez kept her in touch with the small student class. Just 44 graduated Friday night in a ceremony where guests overflowed into aisles and hallways because seating ran out.
“I’m real proud of her. She finished!” graduate Kathy Rodriguez said, hugging Breanna.
Elizabeth watched Breanna’s eyes tear up.
“She makes me very proud. My words can’t express how happy I am for her,” graduate Elizabeth Rodriguez said. “I’m happy she decided not to quit.”
Many of her classmates didn’t think she would make it to graduation, Breanna said.
“I’m here,” she said grinning. “It made me a stronger person.”
The 44 graduates of Bloomington High School lined up just minutes before the 8 p.m. ceremony in the auditorium. They screamed and yelled during their final walk down the halls as Bobcats, shutting the cleaned-open lockers, ready to begin their hopeful and ambitious young adult lives.
“It’s the final thing they get to do as high school students,” Principal Brem said.” I’m excited for them.”
Before their walk, they snapped a class photo to start a new tradition of hanging the class photos in the hallway.
Brem thought it would be nice for students to see where they came from.
“A lot of them will come back to visit,” he said, smiling.
Tara Bozick is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6504.