Julius L. Chambers HS student pushes through obstacles to reach graduation

CHARLOTTE — Rae’Kel Massey said she faced a lot of obstacles which that made her feel like graduating high school wasn’t possible.

“Everybody says high school is a breeze, high school was challenging for me,” said Massey, a graduate of Julius L. Chambers High School.

On Saturday, she walked across the graduation stage, celebrating her triumph and perseverance

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“I feel like I’ve done a lot, because I always said I wouldn’t make it to the point to graduate,” Massey said.

Massey’s mother went though a battle with breast cancer during her senior year. She underwent a mastectomy for the second time in her life.

“They said if they waited any longer she would have (been) septic or she would have passed at her age,” Massey said.

While her mother was experiencing health issues, Massey had to miss school to be there for her mom.

Although Massey missed classes and assignments, she was able to make it up for it, and it lead to a full-ride scholarship to Johnson C. Smith University starting this fall, where she plans to major in psychology.

>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9′s Gina Esposito spoke to Raek’Kel Massey about the determination it took to reach her the graduation stage.

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