Perfect attendance: Highland High School senior has never missed a day of school

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — From pre-K to his senior year at Highland High School, Fernando Ruiz never missed a day of class.

“It feels nerve-wracking because, in many days I thought I’d miss a day,” Ruiz said.

And he gives all credit to mom.

“I feel like if it wasn’t for my mom, I wouldn’t have had 13 years,” he said. “Even in many days when I was sick, my mom would come to school and bring me medicine.”

“No, it wasn’t easy,” said Bella Ruiz, Fernando’s mom. She did all she could to never let him get even a tardy.

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“That’s a responsibility we took on together with her, myself and [Fernando],” Ruiz’s father, Fernando, said.

Through sacrifices and tears, the Highland HS senior said, some days were challenging for them.

“I’ve lost many family members like my grandma or I lost one of my best friends, and I lost an older brother,” he said. “It really pushed me to excel more and say, you know what? They might not be here with me, but they will be telling me to never give up and push strong.”

He’s proud of his achievements, and says he’ll instill that dedication to his future kids.

“I’m going to push them too,” said Fernando Ruiz. “Every single one of my kids I’m going to push them to never miss a day of school, and to always make me proud the way I made my parents proud.”

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Fernando says it all comes back to mom.

“She always pushed me and that’s why I owe everything she’s ever done, and I feel like she’s the real motivation. She’s the real reason why I have perfect attendance and, she’s the one who should get all the credit and not me,” he said. “My mom’s the real hero, and that’s why I love my mom so much, for pushing me every single day.”

Proof that with family support, anything is possible.

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