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TAMPA BAY VO-TECH

 
Published June 5, 1991|Updated Oct. 13, 2005

Natasha Chesser, in a red cap and gown, hid Tuesday night behind the door of the main floor of the University of South Florida Sun Dome. "I don't want to go out there," she said. "I'm embarrassed."

The cause was a big banner hung by her parents in the stands: "You did it, Natasha. We're proud."

Chesser, who quit school and then returned to finish with her class, was among 250 Tampa Bay Vocational-Technical High School students who graduated in front of approximately 600 well-wishers.

"It was a lot of hard work," Chesser said. "I'm just glad it's over."

Such perseverance proved to be the common denominator of the Titan class of 1991, according to principal Robert Godwin.

"They have stuck to it like no others I've ever witnessed," he said.

University of South Florida-bound valedictorian Diana Myles spoke of prosperity and success.

"I challenge you to have confidence in yourself and in your ability to achieve," she said. "I challenge you to dream the impossible dream and to be better by far than you presently are."

The Titan award was presented to Vasti Amaro and Nickolas Williams.

English teacher and department head Bertha Baker Lopez was given a plaque of appreciation for her service in the Persian Gulf.

_ AMANDA GRIFFIN