Mom of 6 earns diploma years after being forced to drop out of high school
Dafani Peralta is leading by example, showing her children the importance of making education a priority.
Peralta, 28, became pregnant with her first child at 15, and because she didn't have support at home, dropped out of high school. The Paterson, New Jersey, resident always wanted to earn her diploma, but encountered obstacle after obstacle — sometimes she didn't have child care, or she couldn't always afford to take the bus.
After the pandemic hit, Peralta — now married and a mom of six — realized this gave her the opportunity to earn her high school equivalency diploma from home, where she wouldn't need to worry about day care or transportation. Her sister-in-law offered to watch the kids while she studied, and Peralta told Good Morning America, "I took it seriously because I thought this was the opportunity of my life. I thought I'm not going to take it for granted."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
She impressed her teachers at the Paterson Adult & Continuing Education (P.A.C.E.) program, cramming in three months of learning in just 30 days. "I noticed the more work I gave her, the more effort she put into it," teacher Vilma Carranza told GMA. "She really put her mind and her heart into what she was doing." Peralta graduated in July, and is now looking into online college courses. The most important thing to her is that her kids are able to "see what their minds can do," Peralta said.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Duchess of Gloucester: the hard-working royal you've never heard of
Under The Radar Outer royal 'never expected' to do duties but has stepped up to the plate
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published