SAN ANTONIO – Yvonne Zuniga and her daughter, Claudia Garcia, are attending Palo Alto College together.
Due to a serious medical condition, Garcia had to drop out of elementary school.
"When I was about 8, I started feeling really sick all the time," Garcia said.
Garcia's mother said she was hospitalized several times and missed a lot of school.
"After a while, I got tired of not doing anything with my life, like just sitting in bed side to side. I just need to get my GED, even if it hurts me, even if I feel sick, I think we really need to push through it," Garcia said.
Garcia went back to school and earned her GED through Palo Alto College's Adult Learning Academy.
This year, one of Garcia's new classmates is her biggest supporter -- her mother.
"She was always there when nobody else was. She was always there," Garcia said.
Zuniga said after she found out she was pregnant, she decided to work to support and take care of her daughter.
She said a recent layoff made it the perfect time to go back to school, especially with her daughter's improved health.
"I'm very proud of her. She's making it happen on her own. She's doing an excellent job," Zuniga said.
Garcia is proud of her mother, too, and has a message for others in a similar situation.
"You just have to try, even if you go, 'They are not going to accept me, nothing's going to work out, I have no qualifications.' You just have to try," Garcia said.