[MUSIC PLAYING] LAURA MANZO: She was a handful. She was always full of energy and very determined and very strong willed. And I really admired that about her. 

NOELIA RAMIREZ: I was just always learning, always curious, and I had somebody to bounce things back at home. So every day I looked forward to going to school. And so when they were divorced, I hated school. All of a sudden, all the strict upbringing I had just all of a sudden, I could do whatever I want. And I was only I think 12 or 13. So I didn't have to go home, read or do homework. So it started early. I think it started in sixth grade. That's when I just started. That was it. I didn't want to go to school anymore. 

LINDA COYNE: She was very bright, extremely bright. And so oftentimes kids that are really bright just don't want to put up with a lot of change and a lot of turmoil because somehow they know that they can do better. 

LAURA MANZO: I kind of stopped hanging out with her for a while, and I did lose touch of where she was until one point we sat down. I'm like, you know, what are you doing? I'm almost done with school. I'm going to graduate, and you're not. You're not taking this serious. What are your thoughts? What are you going to do with yourself? 

NOELIA RAMIREZ: When she asked me, what are you going to do? Just stay in this town? And you're just going to do hair? You're just going to play music? And she said, you just can't do that. You just have to go do something else with yourself. And I just thought about it and I thought, you're right. I don't want to stay here. I was sick of living there. I was sick of everything. I was sick of my lifestyle. And I said, you're right. I'm just going to go to school and see if I can move away. I started off with independent study because I didn't want to be in a classroom. I couldn't handle being in the classroom. High school was horrifying for me, horrifying environment. 

ALICE WILSON: They would have a van, an RV that would go around to the student's home. Teaching in an RV in one on one, no matter how terrible the person you heard about him before they were always-- had what they wanted when you were in that van situation, that one on one. 

NOELIA RAMIREZ: And I remember when she first came, I thought, oh my God. This is so cool. They come to you, and she was my math and science teacher. So it was sort of back again, like the one on one that I had as growing up as a child. 

SARALA COBERLY: At our kind of school, someone like Noelia is recognized for what she is and doesn't have to fit into the mold of the normal classroom where they would get lost in the shuffle. And here, it's like, yes. And one can individually support whatever paths they seem to express. 

NOELIA RAMIREZ: That day that I went through that graduation and they called my name for that diploma, I mean, you saw the picture. I looked so-- I was mad at them. I said, how could you embarrass me like this? They gave me a scholarship, and I was just angry at them, and I think I was giving them dirty looks the whole entire time. That's what we laughed about when we out of the reunion, that I was so angry, so mad at them. 

LINDA COYNE: She went to the local community college, Hartnell College, here, and then continued her life. And now she's our state consultant at the State Department of Education. [LAUGHS] Which is so totally cool for us. 

DEBRA JONES: She applied for the job. I had known her when she worked for the adoptions unit. She was an analyst. She was young. She had fire about her. Eventually she said, well, I know that region really well. I used to live there. And I said, oh, that's wonderful. She said, well, I know it better than you think I know. I actually went to the Adult School there and graduated. And I was just shocked and amazed. And here she come full circle. 

LAURA MANZO: Adult education is something that's near and dear to her heart because she is a product of that system, and now working at it from the other side gives her an advantage to be able to help students that were in a position that she was in in the past. 

DEBRA JONES: She brings empathy. She brings understanding. She's been there herself. She knows what a hard journey our adult students have. And now that she's in the leadership role, she also knows about the bureaucracy and the balance of bureaucracies and implementation and what it really means to be in the front lines. And she was a student. She's all about doing what's right for our students. And that's a breath of fresh air. 

NOELIA RAMIREZ: Through that position, I could visit sites. I've been told I could talk at schools and reach out to some of the young learners that they still have and be able to talk to them about my experience and give them faith in themselves, because when that system doesn't work for you, and you have somebody that can tell you, hey, look at this. This is what I did. And I did it my way. And you can do it too. 

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