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Father and son graduating at the same time
FOX 26's Damali Keith has an inspiring story about one father's determination to excel in the classroom.
HOUSTON - With the new year comes New Year’s Resolutions. If at some point you feel you can’t keep your newly made promise, perhaps this Positively Houston is just the encouragement you'll need.
When Demoine Jones was just 14 years old he thought any chance of achieving any of his dreams was over because he was about to become a dad. After a lot of hard work his son is now a senior in high school and Mr. Jones is also a senior...in law school.
"On August 10th he was born. It was actually the first day of school, my Sophomore year. So while other people were preparing for school I was preparing to be a dad."
Just a kid himself, Jones found out when he was 14 he was about to be a dad and he became a father at 15.
That was 18 years ago. It was the first year Kashmere High offered daycare to students.
"So thankfully, and fortunately, I was able to have my son attend the school with me. So we would go to and from school together."
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As a high school kid, the teen didn’t know much about being a parent but he knew, "I didn’t have my dad. So I always said that I wanted to be different than that. Parents, especially like my mom, they would say how kids are a blessing. To become a parent that made me realize what that meant."
Jones also knew he had hurdles to clear growing up in Fifth Ward.
"So the odds were already against me. Now to become a father at an early age at that point I was like, 'oh man life has to be over.'"
But the very thing he thought was ending his dreams turned out to be the biggest push, propelling him to achieve them.
"My son has been like my inspiration."
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So from completing high school to handing out clothes to the homeless, to bowling on weekends, and becoming a deacon at his church, Jones' son Devante has been right by his side.
"My dad you can almost call him a light. He shines light in my life," says Devante.
Mr. Jones now two kids, son Devante and daughter De’Naejah. They've encouraged him to achieve his Associate's Degree in Business Administration, a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communications and now Mr. Jones is in his final semester in law school at TSU’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
"At first, I didn’t even think about going to school. But because I see my dad going to school, that’s the main reason I want to go to school," says Devante. The 18-year-old high school senior wants to become a doctor.
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"I want to study neuroscience."
Turns out, Devante at 15 also came up against quite an obstacle. He was diagnosed with Lupus.
"We all have our battles but it’s not the battle, it’s how you handle the situation. Your current situation is not your final destination," says Mr. Jones who is scheduled to take the Bar exam next month.