'I just couldn’t believe my mom was gone': Baldwin senior lost her mom, now she has 45 college offers
She says she knows her mom would be proud of her.
"I just couldn’t believe my mom was gone" Meet this Baldwin Great Grad
Baldwin High School Senior Soniya Breazeal's love for learning comes from her mom.
“When I was younger, she had me reading and writing a lot. She was big on school.” Soniya said.
But the day after her 8th birthday, her mom suddenly died. Soniya moved from Macon to Milledgeville to live with her grandma, never seeing her old school or friends again.
“I just couldn’t believe my mom was gone,” she said. “It’s very lonely especially if that’s the parent you were with all the time.”
While she had good grades and got into Georgia College’s early college program, her behavior was a different story from 7th grade through 9th grade. Her mentor, Dr. Runee Sallad, Principal of Georgia College’s early college program, told Soniya that her attitude would close doors of opportunity for her.
“(That time was) all filled with a lot of tears because it was very stressful, and I know that having my mom there would've been more comforting because she would know what to say to me,” Soniya said. “It hurt when (Sallad) said it, but it was true. You could have the brightest brain in the world, but if you make the worst decisions, all goes out the door. "
Soniya never looked back. She became a cheerleader, a soccer player, and a volunteer. She has also attended Central Georgia Technical College, GMC and Georgia College’s early college programs.
All while working a job and going to high school. She has been accepted into 45 colleges including two full rides.
Soniya will head to Florida A&M this fall where she will major in Health Care Management. She wants to work in a hospital like her mother, who was a nurse practitioner.
"Even if you come from bad situations, you can always make the best out of your situation," she said.
She says she couldn’t do it without her grandma, Dr. Sallad and her family. But most of all she knows her mom would be proud.
"I just wish that I could hear her cheering for me, like her voice,” Soniya said. “She'd be very happy that I made the decisions that I made academically. She'd be happy that I've grown as a person."