Rubi is this years Valedictorian!
Greetings from Belize. I’m here to attend the graduation ceremonies for the PathLight students, but most importantly you need to read about Rubi. She is an amazing young woman and we are proud to have her in the program.
Rubi continues the tradition of a PathLight student being at the top of the class academically. She is this year’s Valedictorian at Belmopan Baptist High School, which is one of the schools PathLight works with. Top academic honors is an amazing accomplishment for a young woman from the rural area of Belize, one of the poorest in all of Central America. Rubi is also the recipient of the Do the Right Thing Award, which is awarded to only ten teenagers across the nation. And her classmates elected her President of the Student Council.
Rubi has quite a family, as you can tell from this story about her older brother. Rubi lost her father and it was hard for her to continue school at times. When asked about being Valedictorian, Rubi said, “Well, it’s a promise I made to my Dad while he was dying.” She continued, “I don’t want people to think this achievement was easy; it has been very difficult. There were times I felt like giving up but in those moments it’s as if I could hear my Dad’s voice in my head telling me to do my best. I had to accept that he was gone and even though it was hard I knew that I had to still do my best. With the help of God I made it, I was able to use the difficulties to help push me to do better.”
What a kid! Seeing Rubi succeed and show such maturity is testament to her hard work and perseverance, as well as to the powerful impact the PathLight E3 Model has on the students, teachers, and communities in Belize.
You know another amazing fact? Rubi is not the first PathLight student at the top of her class. For the last 4 years a PathLight student has been valedictorian or salutatorian! The program works in a powerful way and it’s a joy to be associated with it. And this year sets a new precedent as both high school AND college graduates are in the PathLight program. These PathLight students are going to change their nation.
Hopefully you can join us in this celebration. We are still looking for student sponsors, and we will have 10-15 new students selected for the program this June. Consider becoming a sponsor — you can change a life!