IRRIGON – Booker T. Washington once said, “You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals.”

By that yardstick, many of the students who graduated from the Morrow Education Center celebrated huge accomplishments Thursday night at their graduation.

Most dodged some serious potholes on the way to get their diplomas. Some fell behind in credits. Others joined gangs, tangled with drugs and alcohol or became pregnant.

All ended up at the alternative school with a lot of ground to make up. There, they got help blasting through the barriers in their lives and finding a way to be successful in school. The 12 graduates who accepted their hard-won diplomas Thursday in Irrigon found ways to do just that.

Jesus Gerardo Galindo Cervantes, 20, accepted his diploma with a broad smile.

Cervantes started high school four years ago at Boardman’s Riverside High School. Then 17, he didn’t speak English and he’d only completed through seventh grade in Mexico. As a result, Cervantes struggled.

“I was discouraged because I was not a good speaker,” he said. “I was embarrassed.”

When his Riverside teachers suggested he go to the alternative school for intensive help, he wasn’t excited.

“I didn’t want to be here,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I would fit in.”

Instead, he connected with the teachers and students and steadily worked his way toward his diploma.

Jessica Siemer brushed away tears as she hugged family members after the ceremony. Her family moved to Umatilla from last year and Siemer discovered she lacked credits. Her teachers steered her toward the alternative school to catch up.

“I was scared at first – all those things you hear about the bad kids,” she said. “I thought people would be really mean.”

To her surprise, she found a climate that jived more with her learning style than traditional school.

“Six subjects a day was hard for me there,” she said. “Here, I worked on one until I was done.”

The atmosphere was relaxed and supportive.

“It was way different from a public school,” she said. “There’s not the drama.”

Matt Combe, the school’s administrator, said the staff takes pains to encourage harmony. Students with gang connections must leave them off school grounds.

“We’re neutral ground – this isn’t anybody’s turf,” he said. “Here, they get along.”

During the ceremony, keynote speaker Laura Aviles-Valdez praised the students for their perseverance. Aviles-Valdez, of the Morrow County Juvenile Department, like Cervantes, came to the United States at age 17 with no language skills. She learned English on her own, attended community college, than earned a degree at Eastern Oregon University. Her next milestone is graduate school.

She urged the students to consider secondary education.

“Take pride and continue moving forward,” she said.