Formerly homeless North Miami Beach grad wanted to enjoy senior year before the Army

“Proud parent of a U.S. Army soldier.” His mother already has the bumper sticker on the back of her Chevy pickup truck.

Miguel Lopez isn’t one yet, but he will be at the end of the month when he’s off to basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

All Miguel wanted before joining the airborne infantry was to enjoy his senior year at North Miami Beach Senior High — his last year of childhood. It was all coming together.

The 17-year-old JROTC drill captain finally didn’t have any more Saturday early morning competitions. His mom and his girlfriend’s parents finally agreed to let him drive a 1967 Chevrolet Impala for prom.

And his family had a place to live.

In the fall of 2019, his mother and stepfather lost their jobs. They spent a few months living in a motel. Camillus House found them a place to live after Thanksgiving, though it was on the opposite end of the county.

Still, Miguel got back to being a kid. The last milestone he enjoyed before the pandemic was Senior Skip Day with friends at the beach. The next day, school was canceled for two weeks. Then later, the rest of his high school career.

“I thought I had more time,” he said. “I would count the days until Grad Bash, until prom, until senior breakfast. I spent my senior year looking forward to those events. ... Just for everything to crash, it kind of was disappointing.”

School was never easy for Miguel. He worked hard but was barely making it.

This year, the school had paid for all of his senior activities fees. He only had a few easier credits left to finish the school year.

“I took my senior year for granted,” he said.

His mother, Barbara Rodriguez, missed out, too. She didn’t get to enjoy any of those activities either while growing up.

“I wasn’t as fortunate,” she said. “I was living it through him.”

Rodriguez did her best to encourage her son. She had been secretly planning a blowout for Miguel, who turns 18 in July. The one big early birthday, graduation and farewell party with friends and family would be the first big party Miguel ever had.

“I don’t know how we’re going to send him off,” Rodriguez said. She made sure to get him an active duty sash for graduation, anyway.

Miguel couldn’t wait to take a photo with his diploma. He wanted to say goodbye to his friends in person, not in a text message.

Now he looks forward to his high school reunion — one much sooner than later. “Instead of waiting 30 years, 40 years, something that all of us can link together and enjoy each other’s time before we grow up and forget about each other.”

At least he got a taste of senior year, he said. He worries about younger classes who might not enjoy school the same way in a post-pandemic world.

“The same people that took school for granted are the same people that are saying they want to go back to school,” he said. “All I can say is, don’t take it for granted and take your time and have fun.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM.