Help Us Show My Daughter She Deserves to Be Celebrated

This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to write as a mother, but I’m doing it for my daughter, a young woman who has worked so hard, fought through anxiety, and still managed to graduate high school despite overwhelming obstacles.

My daughter has attended Rhodes College and Career Academy (CMSD) since 9th grade. She’s always been a strong student and a kind soul, but she also lives with anxiety that sometimes makes it hard for her to navigate social situations. The school has known this for years, they’ve seen it firsthand.

The day before graduation, she went to school but didn’t walk into the graduation practice area. She was there, in the building, but when she saw everyone dressed up, she froze. She felt overwhelmed, anxious, and completely out of place because she wasn’t dressed up as well. I immediately started calling everyone I could at the school to let them know she was there and needed support. I asked if someone, anyone, could help talk her through it. No one answered their phones. So I called the school directly and told them she was having an anxiety episode. They reached out to the senior advisor, who told them, “Well, if she doesn’t walk in, she can’t participate in anything.”

I continued trying to contact the school, texting and emailing everyone I could, the counselor, the principal, the superintendent. I told them how hurt I was that my daughter would be excluded because of something she can’t control. The only reply I got was from the counselor: “Sorry. You can pick up her diploma Monday.”

Graduation was the next day. Her grandfather, who is battling extremely aggressive cancer with a very low survival rate, had planned to attend. I begged them again to let her walk, just so he could see this moment before it was too late. Still, no one responded. I finally told my daughter to go in anyway, hoping for the best after seating in the parking lot waiting for answers for about an hour.

When she arrived, she was told, “As far as we’re concerned, you’re not walking.” But because district officials were present, and the situation might have looked bad, they eventually handed her a gown and let her walk, with clear reluctance. She was treated poorly. When her name was called, they barely acknowledged her and she was given a very nasty look. She was humiliated and still tried to smile and be kind through it all.

The ceremony was live streamed, and during it, the principal announced that every graduating senior would receive $1,000 from the Alumni. My daughter paid all her senior dues and was told she couldn’t participate in anything because of the earlier issue, she missed the senior brunch, where many students received their checks and many other things.

After the ceremony, I asked the principal how my daughter could get everything that she missed out on and her check since they were for every graduating student at that school for the class of 2025. She told me the check was shredded and sent back.

When I reminded her that my daughter did graduate, her name was in the program, she walked the stage, and her dues were paid, she said, “She has her diploma. That’s the most important thing.”

But my daughter left in tears. She didn’t stay for pictures. She didn’t celebrate at her graduation party. She cried the entire ride home and has been in her room ever since. The one moment she looked forward to, walking the stage with pride and making her grandfather proud, was ruined.

She’s now blaming herself for something she couldn’t control. She keeps replaying everything, wondering if she deserved to be treated that way. I’ve seen the shame and heartbreak in her eyes, and I’m terrified that this might break something in her spirit and make her hate herself for a condition that she can’t control.

So I’m creating this GoFundMe to try and make things right.

I want to raise $1,000, the amount the school said every graduate deserved. Not just because she earned it, but because she needs to feel seen. She needs to feel like she matters. That her mental health doesn’t make her less than anyone else. That her story didn’t end in shame, but in strength, with her community lifting her up when others let her down.

If you can contribute anything at all, even a few dollars, it would mean the world to us. Not just financially, but emotionally. This is about restoring her belief in herself and the kindness of others.

Thank you for reading, thank you for sharing, and thank you for helping us remind her that she still deserves to be celebrated.

They made social media post about how every student received the $1,000 but since then have changed the captions of the post, deleted the comments and also turned the comments off. There are 112 named graduating students in the commencement ceremony program but it states that 117 students received the $1,000. I don’t understand how any of that is making sense.