Sarai Ayon has dreams of becoming a veterinarian, and after receiving a full ride to Skagit Valley College, that goal may happen sooner than later.

The senior plans to study veterinary medicine next year while attending college, but her career may have been grounded before it started had she not enrolled at Emerson High School.

“I was going through a lot during my first years (at Mount Vernon High School),” Ayon said. “I had to drop out, and I realized that education is really important so I came to Emerson.”

Ayon will join her senior class of 15 tomorrow during the alternative high school’s graduation.

About 100 students are enrolled at Emerson, all for various reasons, administrator Janice Condrin said.

“Many students come to this school because they’re wanting more instructional support or smaller classrooms,” Condrin said. “The second most common reason is for some kind of social discomfort. In many cases students choose to come because they feel displaced.”

Ayon said she had heard many misconceptions about the high school from friends, who said students were all rejects from traditional high schools.

“I’m not a gangster or a drug addict,” Ayon said. “It’s quite the opposite. People here genuinely have an interest in your education. I’m a different kind of learner, and they have a way of accommodating your learning style.”

Similar to other alternative high schools, students can attend more traditional classes during the day or participate in contract study, in which they must study 25 hours per week out of class.

In addition to the time Ayon spent in class, she worked for Walker’s Healthy Pet in Mount Vernon. Oftentimes, she’d find herself working more than 30 hours per week and attending school full time.

“It was really hard,” Ayon said. “I had no life outside of school. I literally ran from high school to work.”

Ayon said she’ll be working at the pet food and supply store this summer before attending Skagit in the fall.

In addition to having a career goal, Ayon has also received three scholarships for the college. She said many students don’t know that scholarship opportunities exist, but school staff helped her understand what kinds of financial help were available.

“I must have applied for 20 scholarships,” she said.

Emerson High School’s graduation will take place at the Mount Vernon senior center at 7 p.m. Tickets are required, and since the venue is small, graduation is often limited to graduates’ family and friends.

For more information, call 360-336-2681.