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Tonya Papanikolas ReportingHurricane Katrina evacuees had a lot to deal with when they first came to Utah. For students, they had to start new classes in a new school. If that wasn't hard enough, many high school seniors found test score requirements were different here, along with the curriculum they were required to take. Two young men overcame these odds.
High school senior Kendall Collins has spent a lot of time this year working with his counselor.
Kendall Collins: "I just had to catch up on a lot of work."
Collins lived in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina forced his family out. They ended up at Utah's Camp Williams.
Kendall Collins: "I just was worrying about my grandma."
But Collins also had to focus on his education. Enrolling at West Jordan High school, he quickly learned he'd have to take new classes in Utah and face different requirements for graduation.
Kendall Collins, Hurricane Katrina Evacuee: "I didn't think I was gonna make it. I thought of giving up two times, and Miss O'Neill, she wasn't gonna let me do it."
But his counselor won't take all the credit.
Eve O'Neill, Head Counselor, West Jordan High School: "He just kept at it. He just kept doing whatever it took, and you didn't have to nag him about it ever."
Collins admits he worked hard, and now he's about to reap the fruits of his labor. This week, he will graduate with the rest of his class.
Kendall Collins: "It's a good feeling, a wonderful feeling. Never thought I'd be here, but I'm here. So I like it."
Pedro Matheu also fled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and is now about to graduate from Copper Hills High.
Pedro Matheu, Hurricane Katrina Evacuee: "Even though it's things out of my control, I feel it works out in the best way sometimes, you know."
Matheu says with a rougher environment back home, he probably wouldn't have graduated, but Utah gave him a second chance with people who encouraged him.
Pedro Matheu: "I could have dropped out and took the easy way out. But I didn't. I stuck it out. That's what I'm proud of, you know."
Both young men will be graduating tomorrow.
