“I became pregnant and had my baby when I was a freshman in high school. She was born in January. In February, I turned 15.

“It was pretty tough on me. I was trying to go to school, work and take care of my baby. My mom would help me out. My parents have always been supportive. But at the end of my sophomore year, I remember telling my mom, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ She said, ‘Yes, you can.’ But when you get a thought like that in your mind, that I can’t do it, it was too hard for me to back out.

“I started my junior year, and then I said, ‘That’s it.’ It was so stressful, so I got out.

“I continued to work and focused on raising my daughter. She’s 19 now. I’m about to turn 34. And I have three other kids; they’re 13, 12 and 9. I’m a single mom. I guess you could say that I have my hands full.

“I do look back on my life sometimes and think about how I could have made different decisions along the way. But with my kids, I don’t regret anything. I love them all. They’re wonderful kids.”

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“We met at a summer job and started dating. Then one thing led to another. I was a senior in high school and she was a junior. It was scary to be a parent at that age. First, you had to tell your parents.”

How did that go?
“Not too good. It was pretty rough. Honestly, though, it was kind of a reality check for me. I became determined that I had to do something. I wasn’t a bad kid, but I didn’t really have direction. That gave me some direction.

“As soon as I graduated I went to work and started going to college at night. I earned my certificate and was blessed enough to end up with a good job at Oxy Vinyls in Deer Park at 20 years old. I’ve been there ever since.

“We got married the same year our daughter was born. So my wife was married and a senior in high school. We were 18 and 17, and we were living in our own apartment. You can imagine what that was like. So we kind of grew up together, and here we are still together.”

— Jesse Garcia

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“I’m a teen mom. I have a 2-year-old son. It was challenging when I had him and it still is, but I have a lot of people who support me.

“It wasn’t planned, but I knew what I was doing. It just happened, so I’m moving forward.

“I just hope that I can give my son a better life. I don’t want him to mess up like I did.

“Right now, I can’t give him much, you know? That’s why I’m going to school. College is my ticket.”

— Andrea Olivares

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“I only finished the ninth grade because I got pregnant. After that, I did home-schooling.

“It was unplanned, very unplanned. But luckily I have my baby’s father there for me. He’s the one that got me to come to Lee College. I’m 17 and pursuing registered nursing; he’s going for process technology.

“My son turned 1 in August, and I’m currently three months pregnant. I had an ultrasound, and they said it’s going to be a girl. After this I’m getting on a five-year birth control plan, and I’m going to stay in college and finish out my schooling.”

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• Through rough times, she learned about parenthood

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