Overcoming grim past

Her grim past and her bright future are packages that seem to have come together in Veronica Hinojosa's life. Despite her mother's mental illness and father's incarceration, Hinojosa remains the top student inlier class with a 4.44 cumulative GPA. Hinojosa, 18, is the oldest of five children. At the age of 10, Hinojosa took on adult responsibilities - taking care of her siblings, washing clothes and dishes and bathing her mother after an accident left her mother's left side paralyzed. "I remember that day (of the accident) clearly," said Hinojosa, who was nine at the time. "We were in the car while my parents were argum and my mom was screaming and threatened to throw herself out of the car," Hinojosa said. "She did jump out. All I remember is her body dragging from her left side." "My dad stopped the car and the paramedics came," Hinojosa said. "She was full of blood." Her mother was hospitalized and was in a coma for six months. Hinojosa realized that those actions were early signs of her mother's mental instability. At the time, her father didn't know what to do. Her mother eventually came out of the coma, but her mental instability worsened. Hinmosa's life seemed to have gotten worse. When she was 12, her father was incarcerated for drug trafficking. "My mom had terrible mood swings," Hinojosa said. "When my dad called from jail, my mom was outraged," Hinojosa said. From that point, her mother began threatening her children. "She called the police to take us in," Hinojosa said. "She would tell them, 'You took my husband. Take my children too.'" Hinojosa said her mother even the police to tell them she was going to kill them. Eventually, Hinojosa and her siblings were taken from her mother and placed in different foster homes. After sometime, an aunt decided to take in Hinojosa and her siblings. Hinojosa still has fond memories of her father, because he was a "loving father" and still visits him in jail. Hinojosa's relationship with her mother is almost non-existent. Although Hinojosa said she now understands why her mother was not affectionate and not "motherly," their relationship is not the same. "I used to resent her, but I don't anymore," Hinojosa said. "I understand why she wasn't good to us." "I still visit her once in a while not because I need her, but because I know it's good for her." Hinojosa said - Despite Hinojosa's personal problems, John Dahlem the principal at her school, which is not being identified because Hinojosa and her siblings do not want to be located by their mother, said that throughout his 27 years in education he has never come across a student like Hinojosa. "On one side, you have this girl who is at the top of her class. She's an exceptional student with advance placement classes and a very pleasant demeanor," Dahlem said. "But then you also have this girl who has been through so much. And yet, she's very resilient," Dahlem said. Hinojosa remains active in school activities. She has been a member of the basketball and track teams. She's in advanced placement classes and is currently enrolled in Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps. Hinojosa said that her involvement in school was an escape from her personal life. Ironically, however, that drive was instiled by her father, "My dad always told me that I could be good in whatever I wanted to do, " Hinojosa said. Dahlem first encountered Hinojosa when a JROTC teacher recommended Hinojosa to write an essay for "Every Student Succeeding," from the Association of California School Administrators. "She (Veronica) does not look for pity," Dahlem said. "If it weren't for this personal essay and JROTC instructor, I would have never known this about her." Hinojosa was chosen by Dahlem to participate in the awards ceremony. Hinojosa was one of the 13 participants to win an award from the local high schools. Hinojosa was chosen to represent Orange County at the national level, Dahlem said. Hinojosa maintains a positive outlook in life. She has applied to several universities, including UCLA and USC, and has been accepted by both. She has yet to hear from Stanford. "I see this (problems) as, God didn't put anything in my path that I couldn't handle," Hinojosa said.