Senior Success Story: Clovis North senior overcomes housing instability to reach graduation

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Camila Lemus isn't afraid to give a presentation of her work to classmates.

She also eagerly shares her culture as vice president of the Latino Club, which she helped to create on campus.

She isn't afraid to lead the first Folklórico team at Clovis North, despite not knowing the steps well.

"I did it in preschool in LA, and that was like it," Camila said.

It's hard to tell that not long ago, Camila's life looked very different.

"Junior year was actually my hardest," Camila said.

She's been raised by a single mother since her father passed away when she was 10.

He was the breadwinner, and the sudden loss left her stay-at-home mom to raise her and her four siblings on her own.

Since then, her family has moved around a lot.

In her junior year, they had to leave a place they were staying in Fresno and ended up in the backroom of a friend's house.

"It was really hard having that happen at the end of the first semester," Camila said. "I had like two essays due, I had big assignments and I couldn't do them."

Without internet at home, Camila's consistently good grades were slipping in two AP classes and a college course she was taking.

A teacher noticed and brought it up.

That's when Camila confided in her about what was going on with her at home.

"I'm so glad she came up to me because if she didn't, I wouldn't have come up to her and I would've just failed the class," Camila said.

The teacher introduced her to the Transition Program on campus.

Carissa Brisco is part of the Transition Support.

"We provide safety, connection and resources for students and families."

The program helped Camila get an internet "hot spot" to take home.

It also provided food and snacks to get her through the day.

Brisco took over Camila's case from another staff member and said it's been incredible to watch Camila get back on track.

"She has such a bright future, and she's going to do amazing things," Brisco said.

Since she turned 16, Camila has worked two jobs: one at a pizza shop and one at the mall.

In her spare time, she also does nails.

She says she and her family are in a much more stable place, and she looks back at what her family has been through with appreciation.

"I'm just really grateful for my mom because, a lot of times, I don't know how she did it," Camila said.

She says her dad, who was proud of everything she did, and her mom, who has worked to give her the best life possible, are the driving force behind her pressing forward to graduate.

"They always made sure that I had the same opportunities as every other kid and so I mean, luckily to them, I'm where I'm at and I'm so thankful for it," Camila said.

Camila has already been taking classes at Clovis Community College. She'll continue to do so as soon as this summer.

One day, she hopes to become an OBGYN.

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