TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The season for college commencement is coming to a close, but for the graduates, it's only the beginning.
This graduation weekend, Brianna Surrency accepted her degree from Tallahassee Community College. What sets her apart from most grads: Surrency is only 18 years old and hasn't even finished high school yet.
"My mom, she's been an educator for over twenty years," said Brianna Surrency. "She knew the route of what I could take to get me to where I am. That I could take high school classes which are dual enrolled classes. When I was growing up I had to go to Shands to get a PDA done and they went through my groin area and they actually messed up and I ended up with two open arteries. Which are like two holes in your heart and caused me to have a lot of complications and I lot of chemical imbalances which lead to the ADHD and things like that."
"It took a lot of counselling, it took a lot of therapy and most of all it took a lot of management of what we had to do at home," said Tamika Surrency, Brianna's mother.
"The people throughout my life they really supported me. God was number one, he helped me a lot. My mother, my family my aunts grandmas my adopted family as well. I had amazing teachers. All these people just molded me into being pursing what I wanted to do. Small things that they did just pushed me forward," said Brianna Surrency.
"Never give up on your children always try to find different avenues and different coping skills and therapy that you can use. You cannot send students to school and think that's a quick fix," said Tamika Surrency.
"It feels so cool to be on this. I don't even have it down. Did it actually happen, because it just happened last night. Man, I got a degree I don't even have my diploma yet so it it feels wonderful," said Brianna Surrency.
Surrency thanked her father and mother for guiding and motivating her throughout her life. She also went on to thank her entire family and the teachers and faculty members at Leon and Lincoln high schools who helped mold her along the way.
