Once, she was a prostitute, a drug addict and a gang member. But on Thursday night, a California woman beat the odds and added a positive label to her résumé: graduate.
Catarina Morales Reyna, 49, of Sanger, graduated from Sanger Adult School, KFSN reported.
"I feel extremely proud of myself," she said. "I'm so happy I'm overflowing with joy. I'm sitting here tearing up cause it's hitting me that today at the age of 49, ex-drug addict, ex-prostitute, ex-gang banger, I'm getting my diploma. I'm truly blessed. God is good!"
Reyna became hooked on drugs as a youth and served a five-year term in the Valley State Prison for women, KFSN reported. She also gave birth to seven children and lost custody to six of them. But she has been drug-free for seven years and has been out of prison for 10.
“I got all my children back in my life today,” Reyna told KFSN. “I'm so grateful for life today and I'm truly blessed. It feels so right to be in my own skin. As I look back it's only to remember that I've come a long way and I never wanna go back."
Reyna is one of 110 graduates from the Sanger Adult School. All of them have had faced obstacles, according to Gloria Garcia, who works at the school.
"They all had some block in their path. The fact that they're moving forward in life -- it's inspiring to see that," Garcia told KFSN. “I remember telling (Catarina) don't give up. We just kept telling her 'just keep going' and she did it. It's never too late to keep going."
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