Broadmoor Graduates Get Diplomas, Hope for Independence

Doctors once told Christina Spicer that her son, Robert, would not live a full year. Two decades later, he's a Broadmoor School graduate.

"He has cerebral palsy and he has a seizure disorder," Christina said. "They said he had no movement, no intelligence, no nothing.

"Once we went home and got our heads straight on, I said, 'this is what they're telling us, but this is what we're going to do: we're going to make this boy thrive.'"

Tuesday night proved to be a great example of perseverance for Robert and three other Broadmoor graduates — Jocelyn Pierce, Kalya Scott and Molly Toward. Family members, friends, teachers and administrators clapped and cheered during the 90-minute program where the graduates told the crowd about future plans and dreams of independence.

"When we graduate we want to have jobs," Scott said. "We want to live independently, be happy, have fun and make a difference in the world."

Some of the graduates will find work through the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities Vocational Guidance Center, while others were determined to find employment at places like Lake Health or Lawnfield Inn and Suites.

Lake County Commissioners Dan Troy and Judy Moran handed the graduates resolutions of recognition, while Deepwood Board members handed them their diplomas and bags of gifts.

"(Broadmoor) makes a difference in a lot of lives, not just the four that here this evening," Moran said. "I'm very honored to be a part of that."