![]() On that day, one of Jones' staff members picked Jones up to take him to the event. "She said 'I'm trying to do something for you, so please cooperate,'" laughed Jones. "It was a Saturday and I was just planning on catching up on my sleep but my wife wanted me to come somewhere." "I had no idea I was going to graduation," Jones said. It was Regina who eventually planned a surprise graduation ceremony for her husband of 43 years. 'A really big moment': A school's first Latino salutatorian strives to prove immigrant families are the 'backbone' of US A surprise graduation ceremony But I just couldn't hold back the tears every time I talked about that," he said. "I don't think at first she thought it was that deep of a situation. Jones went on to join the Navy, serving for nine years, after which he became a pastor and then a bishop.ĭespite his life's successes, the yearning to experience graduation never left Jones, a sentiment he shared with his wife Regina Jones in 2018. "So I took it and I moved on in life," he said. There was no real enthusiasm, no real excitement or a feeling that came along with it." I just felt like it was handed to me on the trash can lid. "And I felt like somebody just passed me out to lunch room ticket. "They called me to the office to get my diploma," Jones said. Though he received his high school diploma then, it was without any fanfare or celebration. After two weeks of practice, Jones retook his pre-algebra test and passed. Jones' mother, who worked in the Beaufort County Schools system in North Carolina, later engaged an assistant principal to tutor Jones. I didn't know how to say I didn't make it." A diploma with with 'no real enthusiasm' "It was the worst thing you could have told a kid," Jones said, adding that when he found out, he ran 2 miles home and locked himself up in his bedroom, crying himself to sleep. And then I get the message that I was not gonna graduate." I wanted to make Mama proud … The night before, I had picked out my suit to wear, shoes and socks everything. "On the day of graduation, I came to school. "I never got heads up from any of my teachers, or from anyone (in school) that it was not gonna go in my favor," he said. Jones was not informed of this and only found out when he went to pick up his cap and gown on the day of graduation, he told USA TODAY. The North Carolina resident, 66, was unable to attend his graduation from Chocowinity High School in 1976 with the rest of his classmates and teachers because his grade in pre-algebra was a single point too low. But 47 years later, he finally got his moment. was devastated when one point kept him from walking in his high school graduation. ![]()
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