Adelante High School (AHS) senior Riley Thacker of the Riverbank Unified School District was nominated by Principal Ed Vaca for the 18th annual “Every Student Succeeding” Program. There are 26 students from 18 school districts throughout Stanislaus County, including Thacker, that have been nominated.
“I actually feel really happy about being chosen for this award because I’m not really one to show my success myself,” said Thacker. “It just really warms my heart that they even chose me to win this award because I’ve been struggling a lot with mental health, with family life, with everything and I still made it through high school. I just feel very happy about this.”
The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), Stanislaus Charter and the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) host the program that honors students who have faced challenges and managed to succeed regardless.
“The fact that other people see it (success), it actually just warms my heart especially when Adelante is a big home and family,” added Thacker. “They saw me struggling and they still saw how I was trying to succeed and trying to make it to graduate. Because at home my family doesn’t really see what I am going through.”
Thacker graduated early on Dec. 16 and will cross the stage with her Class of 2023 in May. She has already started her first semester at Modesto Junior College where she is taking anthropology, psychology, theater 101 and script analysis. The end goal for Thacker is to pursue acting or become a traveling EMT or nurse.
Through her freshman and sophomore years, she struggled immensely due to family issues. She began her junior year with only 60 credits. Thacker had to put in the work to raise the credits necessary to graduate, which she did and even accomplished the goal of finishing high school early.
With the responsibility of taking care of her little sister and some family problems it was a struggle for Thacker to focus on school work and bringing up her credits.
She said, “So that was very much a struggle, but all the teachers were very lenient and helpful. Anytime you needed help, they would be there and they would help you. Ms. Medeiros was really helpful and Ms. Tapia.”
There will be a recognition breakfast for the county level nominees on Tuesday, March 14 at the Martin G. Petersen Event Center in Modesto. The recognition is for those students who have succeeded despite challenges, exceeded expectations, and left a fond imprint on teachers and staff. One student will be selected as the regional nominee and receive a $500 scholarship.
“I am definitely not a quitter,” expressed Thacker. “Everyone struggles and everything but you can’t let that stop you from getting to your goal or getting to where you want to be in life. It’s just obstacles around the road and you can’t let anyone stop you or let anything stop you from being happy or anything that you want to do.”
