A 29-year-old single mother’s graduation photo is going viral because of the story behind it and all she had to overcome in order to make the picture a reality.
Erica Alfaro stands in her cap and gown with her parents in a strawberry field in San Marcos, near San Diego.
The daughter of farmworkers says she has overcome a lot of obstacles to reach her goals, such as having undereducated parents, learning English at 13, being a teenage mom and surviving domestic violence.
She says these hurdles inspired her to never give up.
“I just decided to get by because I wanted to prove myself wrong. All my doubts I wanted to show myself and show my son that it was possible,” Alfaro said.
Alfaro graduates with a Masters in Education from San Diego State on Sunday.
She hopes to be a high school counselor to help underrepresented students on their own educational journeys.
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