David W. Smith/Daily News Graduates applaud Thursday during their commencement ceremony for the Lighthouse Academy at Briarwood Elementary School.

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Some students at Lighthouse Academy had to overcome a lot of circumstances and come a long way to graduate from the alternative school Thursday night.

But it’s safe to say that senior Charles Pretrick came the farthest.

More than 9,800 miles from his home in Micronesia, the student recently met with Principal Mark Williams with a somewhat unusual request.

“He came to me and said, ‘I need my high school diploma,’ ” Williams said. “I said, ‘What do you mean you need it, of course you need it.’ And he said, ‘I can’t go home unless I graduate. I have to have my high school diploma.’ ”

In the Briarwood Elementary School gymnasium, 10 members of the 18-year-old’s family rallied around their graduate after making the three-day journey to Bowling Green from their small Pacific island northeast of Australia.

“I didn’t think I would make it because I had one month left and I wasn’t sure about my grades,” Pretrick said. “My dad is really proud. He asked me what I want and I said I want to go back home for a while.”

While the 54 other graduates in his class were met with balloons and rose bouquets after they turned their tassels, Pretrick’s cousin Lynn Lawrence pulled a bright pink floral lei over the black pointed cap, and said it was the traditional symbol for graduates in Micronesia.

“It’s a symbol of how proud we are of you,” she said.

But the leis are also a symbol of thankfulness. The group placed a bright blue floral lei around Williams’ neck and told him they were grateful he helped their relative receive a quality education.

During the eighth graduation of Lighthouse Academy, Williams said seeing Pretrick succeed spoke highly of the progress the school has made as it graduated its 430th student Thursday.

“This just shows Lighthouse is not only reaching students countywide, it’s serving students worldwide,” he said.

Sam Pretrick said seeing the first of his children graduate made him “very proud.” He said he sent his son to live with relatives in Bowling Green so he could receive a better education than in Micronesia.

Though the two have not seen each other in more than a year, the father said he was glad to see his son in a cap and gown.

“I just hope he continues to further his education,” he said.

Diploma in hand, Charles Pretrick said he plans to attend Western Kentucky University.

Across the gym, 18-year-old Denise Montell celebrated her commencement with a smaller crowd than Pretrick.

Montell stood with her two sisters and 3-year-old daughter, Elisa, and said she never thought she would see her graduation day. While attending Warren East High School, Montell said she had just decided to drop out when she heard about Lighthouse.

Looking down at her daughter in pigtails, the graduate said her most recent accomplishment can help her show Elisa that she can graduate, too.

“She was my motivation and basically, it was all for her,” Montell said. “I didn’t want her to make the same mistakes I made in my life. It was a way for me to feel like I accomplished something and she was my reason to do this.”