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Meet Leslie Beltran, Teen Mom And Ex-Dropout

Leslie Beltran didn’t think she’d ever graduate from high school. After she got pregnant at 15 and dropped out, she tells KERA’s Krys Boyd, “Education really didn’t cross my mind. It didn’t seem as important to me as having the baby.”

But Leslie quickly realized that working fulltime to provide for her son – without a high school diploma – wouldn’t provide the kind of  life or set the kind of example she wanted. After three years away, she’s back in class now, at Cassata, a Catholic high school in Fort Worth. Leslie plans to graduate, go on to college and become a nurse.

On Students Speak Out: A KERA American Graduate Special, we’ll hear from Leslie and five other students who know what it takes to finish school. The program airs on KERA TV Wednesday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m.

Former KERA staffer Jeff Whittington was executive producer for special projects and Think, as well as host of Anything You Ever Wanted to Know. He also created and launched the KXT Live Sessions series for KXT 91.7.