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'I felt lost': Pleasure Ridge Park senior graduating after difficult road to the stage

Jorge Coronao moved himself and his sister out of a difficult home situation, and turned their life around with help from his counselor.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In just a few days, Jefferson County Public School seniors will walk the stage for their graduations. For some seniors, the road to get there came with incredible obstacles and challenges. 

Pleasure Ridge Park senior Jorge Coronao wasn't always sure he would graduate. Prior to the pandemic, he had a very difficult home life. 

"I could see myself becoming a person I didn't want to become," he said. 

Coronao and his young sister were living in an unstable environment, where drugs were being sold. His mother struggled with addiction and his father wasn't in the country. 

"I wasn't really self-motivated," Coronao said. "I didn't want to go to school or do anything. I felt lost."

In the midst of it all, Coronao bravely moved the pair out, going instead to live with their older sister. 

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"It was like cloud nine," he said. 

A mental health practitioner from another school let PRP's mental health practitioner, Pamela Cotton, know about the situation. She had been trying to get Coronao and his sister into her office for a while.

"They walked into my office and I think I was like 'oh my gosh, it’s Jorge,'" she said.

After meeting with the siblings, Cotton's real work began. 

She helped them get settled and found Coronao a school therapist. From there, she was able to watch them thrive. 

"There's other people that think, 'well let's just get them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps,' well sometimes you have to make sure they have boots," Cotton said. 

In his senior year, Coronao flourished, succeeding in school, leaning on his friends and even going to prom. Cotton called that the proudest moment of her career. 

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"That was the most heartfelt moment that I believe I ever had as a social worker," she said. 

Graduation is just a few days away. Coronao said there was a time graduation wasn't in the cards.

"Something about being around the people you love the most just like, fully changes you," he said. 

Coronao said now, his focuses are happiness and his future. He isn't sure what his next steps are, but he loves science and math. Cotton said they've also discussed traveling out west and the military.

"Jorge had the door opened for him and he had lots of support, and that young man didn't walk through the door, he ran through the door," she said.

 Coronao is set to graduate Friday, May 27 with the rest of PRP's Class of 2022. 

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