If you were busy Sunday enjoying Lake Highlands High School’s graduation festivities, you may have missed a fabulous feature story in the Dallas Morning News about Wildcat Drum Major Rama Hagos, who’s headed to Amherst College on a full ride. Rama’s future is as bright as a copper penny, but her scholarship is worth a whopping $250,000.

I hope you’ll read Jeffrey Weiss’ full story here (or on Sunday’s Metro front page) about Rama’s persistence in pursuing her LHHS education, valuing the ideas and information she was exposed to like precious jewels. Rama’s parents fought hard to bring her and her younger sister, Semien, here, and it literally took a village to help them stay after both parents developed cancer and her father died of the disease.

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Though both parents were Ethiopian immigrants, Rama was born here and she excelled at Lake Highlands Elementary. As her parents’ health conditions worsened, Lori Garousi and Cathy Demonet stepped in to make sure Rama could continue blooming where she was planted. Garousi, now the legal guardian for both girls, even recently hosted a Senior Tea for Rama, a rite-of-passage for graduating senior girls in the neighborhood.

“For her to be able to accomplish what she has with the obstacles in front of her speaks of her moral fortitude as well as the foundation that her parents instilled in her,” said Beth Hanks, another LHE mom who helped Rama over the years with everything from rides home to driving lessons. Hanks linked Rama with Dr. Brenda Prine, Director of LHHS’ College and Career Center, and Dr. Prine guided Rama through the complicated college application and scholarship process.

Prine’s salary is paid primarily by the non-profit groups Wild for Cats and Lake Highlands Women’s League, which rely on donations for their success. “Brenda truly took her under her wing,” said Hanks, who has served on the boards of both groups, “and whenever anything came along that she thought Rama would benefit from, she made sure that Rama had the opportunity to take advantage of it.”

Added Casey Boland, one of Rama’s teachers, “this is Lake Highlands at its best.”

Congratulations Rama!