After earning her high school diploma, Savana Duran has become a catalyst for others in her family



By JUDY SHERARD

jsherard@dailynews.net

Savana Duran might be the first in her family to earn a high school diploma, but she likely won't be the last.

After overcoming health obstacles, Duran, 20, graduated from the Learning Center of Ellis County in December.

Now, she's inspired her mother, Oletha Binder, to work on getting her GED.

The family, including Duran, her mother and brother, moved to Hays from Colorado in 1998.

Duran first was diagnosed with cancer when she was in seventh grade at Felten Middle School.

"My grades started slipping because I was out of school for a long time," Duran said.

However, she passed seventh grade and continued her education.

During her sophomore year at Hays High School, she had surgery on a small tumor on her hand, and her grades slipped again.

The cancer returned during her senior year, and she had her third surgery in February 2010.

She's been cancer-free since then.

"I missed close to half of a semester, so I didn't finish all of my courses at Hays High," Duran said.

She had enough credits to walk with her class at the graduation ceremony, but not enough to receive her diploma that day.

Hays High officials set up a schedule for her to complete the necessary classes at the Learning Center.

"I enrolled the second day the Learning Center opened for school because I wanted to get my diploma," she said.

Duran credits her mother with her accomplishment.

"She is the whole reason I got my diploma," Duran said of Binder. "She never got hers. My dad never got his. My brothers, none of them got theirs."

Now the tables have turned.

"My mom said the day I walked across the stage, even though I didn't have a diploma in hand, she knew she wanted to go back to school," Duran said.

Earning her diploma at the Learning Center also was an emotional experience.

"When I got my diploma, in two months I had passed all my classes, and I had passed them with a high B. I was ecstatic, and (Binder) cried and cried," Duran said.

This is just the beginning of Duran and Binder's educational goals.

"The second she gets her GED, we're planning on going to nursing classes together," Duran said. "My mom is excited about it. The expression on her face when she talks about it, you can tell she's going to accomplish something great."