A student from Rhode Island, USA, fought and managed to receive her high school diploma with her 1-year-old son Grayson in her arms.
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Valerie Landry, a student at Pilgrim High School in Rhode Island, USA, didn’t know if she would make it, but a last-minute decision allowed the young mother to receive her high school diploma with her 1-year-old son Grayson in her arms.
Landry’s story was featured by ABC 6 News the day before her graduation, but at that time, she didn’t know if she could bring Grayson, as she had been informed by the Warwick school board that the ceremony was for students only.
“Warwick Public Schools have a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of each of our students at each school’s graduation,” the school district said in a statement. “To that end, we only allow students to participate in graduation ceremonies, as we receive many requests for family and friends to also participate.”
Despite the prohibition, the young mother was determined to have her son with her at such an important moment. “I’m going to have him with me,” Landry said before the ceremony. “I talked to them and asked what would happen, and they didn’t really answer me, but by this point I’ve passed all my classes, finished my senior project with honors, so we’ll see what happens.”
Her persistence paid off, and Landry was granted permission by the school just before the ceremony. “The principal really realized that it’s my day and it should be what I want, not anyone else’s day. He let me do what I wanted, and it’s the proudest moment of my life,” Landry told the TV network.
For the young mother, graduation was the celebration of a journey of great struggle; as soon as she became pregnant at 16, Landry had to change classes due to constant bullying from her classmates, and Grayson, who was born with a cleft palate, underwent his final surgery a week before the ceremony.
“He’s one of my biggest accomplishments in high school. It took a lot, and I’m very proud of him,” said the proud mother, who was heavily applauded when receiving her diploma. “It’s one of my biggest achievements, and I was honored to have him on stage with me just to show everyone that you can overcome anything.”
Landry’s mother also revealed great pride in her daughter who graduated with honors from high school, as a full-time mother and athlete on the school team. “I have to give her a lot of credit because if I were in her place, I would never have gone on,” Janine Landry told the TV.
This content was created with the help of AI.