She wasn’t valedictorian nor was her name attached to a scholarship on the program, but Tequila Baker was among the proudest Kewpies to graduate this year.

G.J. McCarthy photo

Tequila Baker, left, gets help adjusting the tassel on her cap from Amber Bealmear as they prepare for Hickman High School’s commencement yesterday in the Hearnes Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Tequila, who is five months pregnant, received her diploma through the GED Options program, where she befriended Amber, who is six months pregnant.

Tequila sat yesterday with more than 500 purple-robed Hickman High School graduates in the Hearnes Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia waiting for her big moment. She would walk across the stage and accept a diploma, the first in her immediate family to do so.

Odds were against Tequila. Her mother, Marie Bridgette, became pregnant with her as a senior and dropped out of high school.

"I stopped going to school because I was embarrassed," Bridgette said. "I was trying to hide it."

She wanted a better future for her daughter. Bridgette wanted her oldest to set an example for her younger children. But, for a while, Tequila didn’t seem to care.

As a sophomore at Rock Bridge High School, Tequila skipped school to use drugs with friends and failed her classes.

"We smoked weed all day," Tequila said, noting that those same friends are also graduating this year. "My friends didn’t tell me they were studying. I thought we were just getting high. I guess after they came down from their high, they were doing their homework."

Tequila transferred to Hickman but got suspended for fighting the first semester of her senior year. She also became pregnant.

As she spent her school days at home sleeping late, Tequila said her mom lectured and pleaded with her to get her act together.

"I just want to see them succeed and do better in life than I do," Bridgette said. "It’s hard without a high school diploma. You have to work harder and put up with more stuff just to make ends meet."

The message sank in.

"I realized I really messed up that time," Tequila said. "I guess the yelling paid off."

Tequila entered the second semester of her senior year with just 12 credits, 10 short of the state’s graduation requirement. That’s when Columbia Public Schools gave her another chance.

She would have to make a commitment to school; she would have to hold down a job; and she would have to pass a state assessment exam. If successful, Tequila could be a part of the Class of 2006.

The second chance is called the GED Options program, and it began in 2002 as a way to encourage students lagging behind their peers to stay in school.

"It’s not an easy way out," said Jana Crane, who facilitates the program at Hickman. "If they don’t pass the GED program and don’t maintain employment, they don’t graduate. … The test is really hard."

The GED program was a life raft this year for 22 Hickman seniors, including Chana Hing, a teen mom who had just nine credit hours at the beginning of her senior year.

"I did really good in ninth grade," she said. "But in 10th grade, I started skipping and wouldn’t come to school. I figured I wasn’t going to graduate anyway."

When her son was born, Chana had a change of heart.

"Who’s he going to look up to? I figured he can look up to me," she said. "I need this diploma. I need it for my son, and I need it for me."

Tequila plans to use her high school diploma to pursue a career in nursing. She’s also considering joining the Air Force after the baby is born.

For now, Tequila’s family is just happy she’s made it this far, and they want her graduation to be the first of many.

"It shows me that my job is done," Bridgette said. "I done the best I could, and she really listened to me even though I didn’t think she was. … Her brothers and sisters really look up to her."