FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) \u2014\u00a0As graduation approaches at Central East High School, one senior is preparing to walk across the stage after a journey marked by loss, hardship and transformation.<\/p>\n
Celeste Leyva-Medina said there was a time she never imagined she would make it to graduation.<\/p>\n
In her early years of high school, she struggled with attendance and eventually switched to homeschooling, where she found it difficult to stay engaged.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would log into the classes and just fall asleep,\u201d Leyva-Medina said.<\/p>\n
Raised by her great-grandparents, Celeste and her sister, Ana Monique Cordova-Medina, whom she called \u201cMonie,\u201d shared a close bond.<\/p>\n
Just over a year apart in age, she said they were more like twins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe literally shared everything, the same clothes, we\u2019re the same size, same shoe size, like same everything, it was crazy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
During her junior year, a dispute with her great-grandparents led to both sisters entering foster care. They were placed multiple times before being assigned to a new home with the Macias family.<\/p>\n
Social worker Laurel Johnson oversaw their case.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was challenging for them, because they weren\u2019t used to people who cared without strings,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
About a week after being placed with the new foster family, Monie ran away. It was something she had done before.<\/p>\n
Leyva-Medina said she did not initially worry and encouraged her sister to come home. On January 10, the two spoke as Monie was heading back.<\/p>\n
Shortly after their call ended, Monie got out of the vehicle she was in and attempted to cross a roadway without her glasses. She was struck and killed by a passing driver.<\/p>\n
Later that morning, Leyva-Medina received the devastating news.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was still up, I was waiting for them to find her,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd she had told me that they had found her, and that she was dead. I was just like oh my god. I just started crying so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
The loss of her sister deeply affected her, but Leyva-Medina said it also became a turning point.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really made me realize that all this stuff I was doing, I can\u2019t do that forever,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
During her senior year, she transferred from Hoover High School to Central East High School, determined to change the direction of her life. She said she committed herself to improving both academically and personally.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I put all my effort into being the best foster kid I could be. I made myself into a new person,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Johnson said she\u2019s been impressed with the changes Leyva-Medina has made.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe growth that I\u2019ve seen just in the last few years just makes me so proud, because she\u2019s overcome a lot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Now nearing graduation, Leyva-Medina is finishing her senior year with all A\u2019s and two B\u2019s. She has also secured a job with the Fresno Grizzlies and is renting a room at her uncle\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on her journey, she said she is proud of how far she has come.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy younger self would be so proud, because never in a million years would I have thought I\u2019d be graduating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After graduation, Leyva-Medina plans to attend Fresno City College and pursue a career in education. She said she has already been awarded several scholarships as she prepares for her next chapter.<\/p>\n
By ABC 30\u2019s Jessica Harrington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) \u2014\u00a0As graduation approaches at Central East High School, one senior is preparing to walk across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-330750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}