Mariah Jameson’s bright red, tiara-adorned mortarboard stood out among the small crowd, matching her fiery hair.
“I wouldn’t have graduated” without Second Start, Jameson said.
Second Start offers classes so students can earn a high school diploma from their sending high school, with additional programs teaching life, social, and work skills.
Jameson came to Second Start after leaving Concord High. She thrived at the school, with its smaller class sizes, supportive teachers, and hands-on learning environment that allows students to discover and explore their interests at their own pace.
She was one of seven graduates who gathered Friday night in the Wesley United Methodist Church on Clinton Street in Concord to celebrate their graduation from the alternative high school.
A green banner congratulating the Class of 2026 greeted the attendees in the lobby, where graduates gathered with friends, family, and teachers to take pictures. Green balloons lined the aisle leading up to the stage.
For the crowd gathered in the church pews, this event was momentous, an achievement some thought they would never make.
Jameson formed a particularly close relationship with Michelle Ball, who teaches Physical Education and Transition to Employment.
“She knows what she wants,” Ball said with pride about Jameson’s dedication to achieving her dreams, highlighting that even when her other credits were completed, she still showed up and gave her all to Ball’s Physical Education classes, having fun with her best friend and fellow graduate, Kayleigh Hall.
Where the two really connected was in the Transition to Employment classes Ball taught. In these classes, professionals from a variety of industries come to talk with students about what it is like to work in said industries. Jameson found interest and passion in hair, and eventually decided she wanted to become a cosmetologist.
Jameson, with her credits completed, has been spending her summer hanging out with her friends at the beach, and is looking forward to starting at the Empire Beauty School in the fall.
Editor’s note: This story was changed to correct the message on Mariah Jameson’s mortarboard due to an editing error.
