Meet Melissa Perez

My name is Melissa Perez. I was born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, but my parents are Mexican. Two years ago, graduating high school was not even in my plans. I was doing horribly in school.

Going to a school that has metal detectors is stressful. You have to stand in line 25 minutes to an hour. I would only go in third period and come out fourth. I went third period because I knew they didn't take attendance first and second. So, basically, if you were going third period, they would mark you present for the whole day. I just wasn't interested in school.

Then, when I was 17, I gave birth to my daughter, Madeline. Getting pregnant changed my approach tremendously. I thought, "I'm pregnant, I don't have a diploma. So what am I going to be working the rest of my life? $7.25 an hour? No! I have to graduate and go to college."

Being a mom, still going to high school is, ummm, overwhelming, I would say, at the beginning, but I had this math teacher who encouraged me to go on with school. She always said that she saw something in me. She was like, "I know there's something inside you there that wants to fight for it."

She always pushes me, she always gives me the hard questions because she knows that my favorite subject is math. She's always like, "Melissa, figure this out. Melissa, figure that out." And I'm like, "Okay, okay." I like that about her because she always tends to push me.

Thelma is the first teacher that has treated me, you know, I guess, special. After I had my baby, I got my head into the game and I passed my classes. Being a mom at a young age either makes you or breaks you, but, in my case, it made me. It made me have a total different visual for my future.

I am the first person in my family to graduate from high school.