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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota teenager who lost three family members in the past three years is finding support in a friendship at her new alternative high school.
Alicia Salazar, 17, transferred to Joe Foss Alternative School in Sioux Falls following her mom and half-sister's deaths from what she described as prescription drug complications, the Argus Leader reports (http://argusne.ws/1ylPYfG ) reported. Her father died soon afterward, also from the same complications.
Salazar relies on friends at Joe Foss to make her feel better when she's thinking about her great loss, she said. Salazar and classmate Whitney Thompson, 16, have a particularly strong bond.
"She always just reminds me that they're not there physically, but they're still there," Salazar said. "And that they'd still be proud of me, no matter what I do. Especially proud that I just kept going on."
The pair has a mutually beneficial relationship because Salazar helps support Thompson, too.
Thompson bounced between school programs, including the Joe Foss middle school program, for years due to insubordination and trouble with the law, she said. She returned to Joe Foss after trying, and disliking, the traditional classroom setting at Lincoln High School last year. Although she was relieved to be back at Foss, working at her own pace, Thompson said she would have dropped out if it hadn't been for Salazar's support.
"She's actually been a really big influence on me coming to school," Thompson said of her friend.
Both students are the types of kids Foss educators like to see, teacher Rebecca Kaiser said.
"They are a breath of fresh air," Kaiser said of independent, successful students at Foss. "We see a lot of students who are at the edge of giving up."
Even though Thompson acknowledges she can't fully understand the depth of Salazar's grief, she said her friend's strength is inspiring.
"I've never watched someone endure that much ...," Thompson said, searching for the right way to finish the phrase. "I don't know how you would word that."
Salazar said she returned to school this fall with an even greater drive to graduate this spring. She hopes the accomplishment will honor her parents and set a good example for her sister, Saundra.
"I knew I was going to come back and finish," Salazar said. "I try to be a role model."
She hopes to go to college near Sioux Falls so she can be close to her sister.
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Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
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