Seniors across Keloland are saying goodbye to high school and
looking ahead to the future,
including one Washington High School graduate who is headed to
the Ivy League world in the fall kettle lands.
Lauren Solik introduces us to CNA Retta and finds out
what hard work means for her family.
These days, Cianne Retta has a little more time to
spend with family now that she's graduated from a busy
high school career.
I was involved in Xhosa and Young Democrats.
I was president of both of those clubs and vice
president of student council and National Honor Society.
But in just a few months,
her schedule will fill back up when she heads to
Harvard.
I plan to major in neuroscience,
and I want a minor in Spanish and math.
As of right now, it's a big accomplishment to get
accepted into an Ivy League and her parents.
Couldn't be prouder not only for our family,
for entire communities.
A good student, she's inspiring,
Ciani says. Her parents are her biggest role models.
I would say my parents are my biggest inspiration that
came to America from Ethiopia in 1999.
Obviously they had to go through a lot of hard
challenges,
learning a new language, getting new jobs,
even just like moving to a whole new country.
Just bring the whole bunch of obstacles that they even
face to this day.
Like nothing is perfect. Parents say they did it all
for their kids.
The main reason I want to come is to get
higher education and I did not come until 1999,
too late for me to go to school for me
and for my wife and we start to focus on
our children.
We got three children here,
so seeing Ciani's success makes it all worth it for
them when we see this happen when our daughter get
a high education.
The prestigious college, it's very exciting and.
We are very happy. They didn't know what was going
to happen,
like what was going to come of this,
what was going to wait for them in America.
So they were kind of taking a leap of faith.
But I'm really happy that they did because it was
able to give me these opportunities to come to Washington
to meet the people that I have and to go
to Harvard eventually in Sioux Falls.
Lauren Solik, Keloland News and Red also gave a speech
at Washington's graduation this past weekend.
And she also gave a speech at the Mayor's State
of the City address earlier this year.
Before heading to Boston, she is taking a trip to
Ethiopia with her mom for the summer.