Rosa Cuna, left, and Kristen Maxwell joke around before the start of Dalton State College's 46th commencement exercise Friday at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center. / Dan Henry. CTFPDALTON, WHITFIELD COUNTY -
(Times Free Press) - From early on, Marlen Rodriguez knew she wanted to go to college, but it wasn't until she was in middle school and joined a summer program at Dalton State College that she actually felt it could become a reality.
The program for sixth-graders to high schoolers taught her what to expect on her high school graduation and standardized tests. It basically prepared her for college, said Rodriguez, one of about 400 students who graduated from Dalton State this week.
During Friday's commencement ceremony at the school, the 22-year-old social work major talked to fellow students, faculty and loved ones about coming to the United States from Mexico when she was 4, about neither of her parents finishing middle school, and how, in the U.S., anyone who wants an education can get one.
Read more about this story from our news partners at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
