I think about Dalia Mendoza, and why I do what I do professionally.
Dalia was 14 years old when she gave birth to her daughter in the west Texas desert town of Kermit.
She was smart, determined and trying to figure out life while teaching her child about it, too. When I met her, she was about to graduate high school a year early and with Kermit High’s highest GPA. That last fact really mattered. In Texas, the valedictorian of a high school qualified for a tuition scholarship at a state university. Her school district said she wasn’t eligible for the honor because it had to go to a senior.