David W. Smith/ Daily News Upcoming Bowling Green High School graduate Andrea Hibbitt poses with her 11-month-old daughter Ashani at her home Friday.

advertisement

They call her the ’09 Baby, even though she was born in June 2008.

And while 11-month-old Ashani Griffin may not be receiving a diploma when her mother, 17-year-old Andrea Hibbitt, crosses the line with 244 other Bowling Green High School graduates next weekend, she may just receive a better life.

Andrea was in the middle of basketball season her junior year when she found out she would be carrying more than a backpack to school the rest of the year.

“It was mixed emotions,” the senior said Friday after finishing one of her finals. “I wanted to go against how I felt and have an abortion, but I know I would have to pay for the responsibility.”

Just 16 at the time, Andrea had to grow up from the “wild teenager” - her words - to balancing pre-algebra with prenatal vitamins and ultrasound appointments.

She would go on to finish her junior year, getting by with Cs and Bs in her classes. And this year, she started classes not only as a senior, but as a mom.

Some mornings she watches her classmates yawn, knowing she has not slept all night. Some afternoons, she wishes Ashani’s nap time meant she could catch up on her sleep instead of her studies. Yet Andrea said she never complains about the situation, determined instead to use it as motivation.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Andrea said. “If I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant, I wouldn’t have been on task. I look at her every day and say, ‘I have to do this for her.’ She’s my motivation.”

Andrea is looking to attend either nursing school at Western Kentucky University or to join to Air Force to ensure that her education is paid in the future. She said she wanted to make sure she was not the stereotypical teen mom.

“(There’s a stereotype) that when a younger girl gets pregnant she’ll never learn from her lesson and (will just) have more kids,” Andrea said. “But everyone makes mistakes, it just depends if you want to learn from it or not.”

So, the ’09 Baby might just be wearing purple and gold at Bowling Green High School’s Arena next week to welcome her mother and godmothers with their new diplomas after graduation.

Of the 245 graduates from the school at 2 p.m. May 31, 58 will be recognized as honor graduates, having earned a 3.6 grade-point average or above, and 27 will receive the Commonwealth Diploma.

Among the BGHS graduates, two are National Merit finalists, nine are governor’s scholars and five have attended the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts. The graduates have earned scholarships from 48 different colleges and universities.

Warren County schools will also be passing out diplomas next weekend. Lighthouse Academy High School will be graduating 54 seniors at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Briarwood Elementary School gymnasium.

Warren East High School seniors have accumulated $2 million in scholarships and will graduate 165 seniors in the class of 2009 at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

Greenwood High School will graduate its largest-ever senior class of 355. The students have reaped more than $4.5 million in scholarships, and will receive diplomas at noon Saturday in Diddle Arena. Then, as the same site at 4 p.m. Saturday, Warren Central will round out the county graduations seeing 256 graduates with more than $3 million in scholarships.

Andrea said like other seniors, she is excited and nervous about what will happen after graduation despite already having become very grown up in the last 11 months.

“I wouldn’t ever call my daughter a mistake, but I have learned from the situation,” she said. “And regardless of what throws at you, you can still achieve whatever you want if you focus your mind to it.”