Maya McFadden photos
Theodosia Ross (center) with foster mother Arlene Wright, biological mother Tara Wills, and grandmother Christina Bradley.
Families swarm Parish Hall to watch Riverside students cross the stage.
Riverside Academy senior Theodosia Ross walked the stage to receive her high school diploma that, less than a week ago, she didn’t think she’d get — but she did, despite a long journey through foster care, not being motivated to attend school, losing her father, and battling depression.
Ross was one of Riverside’s 12 graduating seniors who received their diplomas Tuesday afternoon. The class of 2024’s graduation, held at Betsy Ross’s Parish Hall on Kimberly Avenue, was a small but mighty one for New Haven’s last remaining alternative high school.
The 12 graduates were described by Tuesday’s lineup of speakers as having resilience, determined, unwavering commitment, and perseverance.
Riverside Principal Derek Stephenson reminded the graduates that they are a class of promise and possibility. He added that he feels honored to be a Black principal leading the city’s high school tasked with keeping vulnerable youth from falling through the cracks.
“Let my presence be a reminder that you too can break through ceilings and shatter stereotypes,” he said to the graduates and the crowd of dozens of family members and staffers Tuesday. “You are a testament of what’s possible in a world that often tells us that the odds are against us.”
Superintendent Madeline Negrón recalled the students meeting the challenges of remote learning and the Covid pandemic. As she coined the class an “army of warriors,” one graduate from their seat called out, “True!”
Tuesday’s graduates were Dakota Brewer, Lisson Brown, Tremaine Cannon, Ahmya Carson, Samari Miller, Travon Moye, Jose Quezada, Tatyana Ramos, Theodosia Ross, Harlem Smokes, Jefferey Thompson, and Unique Watkins.
Graduate Ahmya Carson, Tuesday's student speaker, described the rollercoaster of high school that began with her disinterest in remote learning, then her isolation from traditional high school making her want to give up, and finally ending with her crossing the stage with high honors.
Keynote speaker Ron Huggins.
The ceremony’s keynote speaker was the city’s Deputy Director of Youth Services Ronald Huggins. He shared about his experience surviving abuse, abandonment, depression, and the loss of both of his parents and a best friend while young.
“For many of you, it took all you had to get to this point. Continue to persevere,” Huggins said. “The future is yours to shape. It is bright and it is blessed.”
He continued with an acronym for the word “blessed.”
B for Boundaries: “Set them and make people respect them.”
L for “Love can’t be bought, so don’t try to do it.”
E for Evolve: “Never become complacent and stay the same.”
S for “Something big is coming.”
S for “Success requires sacrifice.”
E for “Expect the great.”
D for “Don’t deal with people who only love you when they can like you.”
Huggins ended his speech Tuesday by gifting each graduate with $50 gift cards.
Maya McFadden Photo
Theodosia Ross: "I had to keep pushing."
Theodosia Ross, a New Haven transplant from West Haven, was enrolled at West Haven High School for her first freshman and sophomore years, but hardly attended school.
That was due to Ross adjusting to recently being placed in foster care at 14 years old while her mother battled addiction. She was also separated from her younger sister Anna, who was placed in several different fosters homes while they were apart. Ross was placed in two homes over the years. The sisters were recently reunited two years ago.
Her foster mother for the past four years took her in and she moved to New Haven. But then she struggled to get to school in West Haven, making it so she was often absent.
When she arrived in New Haven, she was pushed to attend Hillhouse High School. But she learned about Riverside and how “isolated” it is and “how great the teachers are.” She made up her mind that Riverside was the place for her, and so she dropped out of West Haven High and transferred to the Hill alternative high school.
She arrived at Riverside in 2022 and started off strong, but then got involved with a group of friends that she said drove her to begin fighting often. She then stopped attending school again after her fallout with her friends, making it more difficult for her to have the motivation to return to school.
“I don’t have a lot of motivation sometimes, I deal with depression,” she said. “But I did that. I didn’t want to be 20 years old in high school still. I’m very proud of myself for graduating today because that wasn’t always what I thought would happen.”
Ross’ graduation Tuesday also landed on the exact day she lost her father three years ago. She decorated the black and blue words “My fathers keeper” on the back of her gown. She said the anger and frustration that made up much of her high school experiences was in part due to the lack of discipline from growing up without stable parental figures, having to take care of her sister and grandmother, and having “hate towards the world.”
She added that she was proud of herself Tuesday for also overcoming the embarrassment she felt for being one of the oldest students at her high school. “I was so embarrassed to even come. 20 years old with a bunch of 16, 17-year-olds feels crazy. That was my obstacle. I had to keep pushing, though,” she said.
Ross plans to attend Gateway to be a registered nurse (RN) or pediatrician. She was inspired by taking care of her grandmother her whole life. “I’ve been taking care of her since I was a little girl. Giving her showers and stuff like that. And ever since I noticed that I have that in my heart then I knew I can do it for anybody,” she said.
“I finally feel amazing.”
After her Tuesday graduation ended around 4 p.m., Ross headed to watch her younger sister graduate from Cedarhurst School around 5 p.m.
Graduates Dakota Brewer, Tatyana Ramos, and Ahmya Carson.
Riverside has a total of 100 students. That number, Stephenson said, often fluctuates throughout the school year as students come and go to return to their sending schools.
The total number of seniors Stephenson estimated was 25 – 30 this year. Riverside’s system assigns its students as first-semester seniors and second-semester seniors. Tuesday’s graduating class was this year’s second-semester seniors.
Stephenson said due to the Covid pandemic, this year’s seniors required Riverside staff to work hard to help them regain their academic momentum. “Covid is still not over because we’re still working through its residual impacts,” he said.
For many graduates, Stephenson said, the “peak of that mountain to them was not obtainable.”
However, the graduating students did get past their hurdles and boundaries. Just a few of those obstacles included recently losing parents, mental health struggles, having dysfunctional family structures, parenting, dealing with Department of Children and Families (DCF), and even having been shot less than two months ago.
Stephenson concluded that Riverside is a critical school in New Haven’s public school system. “It serves our community that is lost and the most vulnerable, and that are often easily overlooked,” he said.
The small school, with many staffers who have also overcome similar obstacles or had alternative education themselves, slows students down to remind them to never give up no matter how long the journey is.
“Our team is equipped to embrace the students’ barriers and struggles no matter how big or small,” Stephenson said. “Riverside is a lifeline for New Haven Public Schools. We get the job done.”
