BELTON, Texas -- Many people struggle throughout life and attending 11 schools in 13 years has been more than a struggle for Jasmine D. Triplett an Ohio native who was one of more than four hundred students that graduated from Copperas Cove High School Friday at the Expo Center.
From birth Jasmine faced many challenges. She was a premature baby weighing just a little more than one pound and who struggled to breathe on her own. Her mother and father stood by her side to protect her and to ensure that their little girl survived.
Her mother and father were married when she was born and separated a few years later. Even though he was in the military, in 1995 the divorce was final and Sgt. James L. Triplett her father and now a member of Alpha Company, 589th, 41st Fire Brigade received full custody of her.
Never taking care of a child full time by his self before was very difficult but "I did the best that I could do in order to raise my daughter," James said. "Providing for a child is a change in life style," he added.
Military life is always uncertain and hard on a child. Deployments and loved ones have to come and go, rather it is in the middle of the school year or not, it is never convenient for a school aged child to relocate. "As a child moving was not that bad because I made new friends every day," Jasmine said as she smiled.
While in kindergarten she had to move in the middle of the school year due to her father job when the schools felt that she was not prepared and held her in kindergarten another year.
Due to her father deploying, being assigned to Korea on an unaccompanied tour and moving from military post to military post throughout the U.S. Jasmine attended 13 different schools within the U.S. to include schools in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Ohio.
While her father was in the field training, Korea and any mission that took him away from her he depended on close friends and family to care for his daughter. During deployments she would go back to Ohio where she was born to stay with family.
In 2005 James remarried to who is now Staff Sgt. April G. Triplett. April is also in the military and is currently assigned to 297th Transportation.
During Jasmine's summer vacation just before her senior year in high school her father deployed once again. Jasmine was to stay with her step-mother and finish school when her step-mother was also called to deploy four months later. Jasmine along with her brothers and sisters relocated to Ohio to live with family.
"I told my father that once I started in one high school that is where I want to finish," Jasmine stated.
Receiving 19 credits before her senior year while in Ohio Jasmine surpassed all graduation requires for school and only needed two credits to graduate making her eligible to graduate before Christmas. Later during her senior year her father returned and she had to move once again back to Fort Hood.
During the deployments only one thing came to her mind "I was only mad when I had to go to three different high schools because of my father's job in the military," Jasmine adds.
This time things were different "I had to move back right before I took my final exams for early graduation," Jasmine said. "When I got back to Texas and enrolled into Copperas Cove High School they were in the middle of their finals."
Never sitting in any classes in this school and never taking some of the classes at all she had to take the finals hoping she made good grades on them in order to get the credits she needed for graduation.
"CCHS needs 28 credits to graduate," Jasmine stated and "I wondered, hoped, and prayed that I would graduate on time. I didn't know if I was going to graduate or not this year."
As her name was called, her family stood proudly for all she has been through while she gracefully walked across the stage to receive what is now her well earned diploma.
As the graduation season wears down and the Texas school years come to an end, one family is grateful to see their daughter graduate.
The expo center had more than 2,000 people as families watched their loved ones walk across the stage and become high school graduates.