Their Diplomas Don't Tell It All -- 3 Teens Braved Special Hurdles

Sarah Rose was 15 when she visited the family doctor for a routine checkup - only to find she was seven months pregnant.

Now a 17-year-old mom, she graduated last night from Newport High School in Bellevue with honors and a college scholarship.

``I knew I had to finish high school, at least to make enough money to support Timothy,'' said Rose, who is still not of legal age to sign medical forms for her 13-month-old son.

Among the thousands of Eastside high-school students graduating this month are some who have beaten the odds to earn their caps and gowns. Sarah Rose is one of them.

Frank Adams is another. A senior at Bothell High School, he has cerebral palsy and has used a wheelchair since childhood. But he is graduating sixth in his class of 344 with a 3.95 grade-point average.

Then there's F. Carter Hoodless, who has worked two to three jobs since seventh grade to pay for private music lessons. Now, the Juanita High School senior has won a $12,000 music scholarship to the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Ohio.

Sarah Rose delivered Timothy - 8 pounds, 4 ounces - at her Newport Hills home on prom night last year.

``I didn't have a date anyway,'' said Rose, who returned to school one week later.

Rose said her mother cares for Timothy during the day, and she takes over every day after school.

``I had a lot of support,'' she said. ``I couldn't have done it (finish school) without my family. . . . I couldn't have gone to school and left Timothy home alone.''

At Newport, Rose served as president of Students Against Drinking and Driving (SADD). She spent 260 volunteer hours at the Evergreen Hospital. She sews, plays the flute and enjoys computer games.

She has received a scholarship to Bellevue Community College and intends to transfer to Whittier College in California. She plans to become a high-school biology teacher.

Rose said more children and marriage ``may not be in the picture'' for her.

``I don't really know right now,'' she said. ``Right now, I just look at it being me and Timothy for a long time. I'm happy with that. I'm playing everything by ear - day by day.''

Frank Adams said he has always liked school.

``It took a heck of a lot of work,'' said Adams, 18, who attends four regular classes daily and two classes where he can study on his own.

Janice Hathaway, an instructional aide for Adams, said it takes him twice as long as other students to do school work. He uses a specially adapted computer.

``It could take Frank four to five days to type a two-page paper,'' said Hathaway, a speech and language expert. ``He types with one finger on his right hand.''

Adams started school in second grade. ``I learned everything I needed to know on `Sesame Street,' '' said Adams, who will be leading his high-school graduation procession Saturday. ``My teachers have all been great - and very accommodating. I'm very happy.''

He has lived with his adoptive father, Richard Adams, for the past five years. Before 1985, he lived in several foster homes, which he said was ``very hard to do.''

Adams writes articles for the school paper, The Catamount, and ran for class president last year.

``Frank will probably accomplish everything he sets out to do,'' said Hathaway. ``He's a very focused student.

Adams will attend Shoreline Community College and intends to transfer to the University of Washington, focusing on computer sciences.

``I've already named my company `Flipside Software,' '' he said.

F. Carter Hoodless graduates from Juanita with a 3.85 grade-point average despite a schedule that would exhaust most students. He starts every morning at 4:30 a.m. with a newspaper route. Jazz band begins at 6:50 a.m., and school starts at 7:35. After school, he practices for two to three hours.

``You have to sacrifice a lot of sleep,'' said the busy 18-year-old.

Hoodless is a jazz percussionist and has been playing drums since seventh grade. He has performed with the Seattle Opera, the all-state Jazz Band and the Imperials Marching Band. He writes a column for the school newspaper, The Lexington, called ``Yo Carter Raps.''

Hoodless plans to earn an education degree in music and minor in English.

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Top grads ready to move on;

Eastside high school's top-ranked graduates and where they plan to attend college:;

BELLEVUE HIGH SCHOOL (TOP 3 PERCENT);

Diane Cho - Princeton University;

Eric Nickols - University of Washington;

Seema Srinath - University of California at Berkeley;

Amy Cutting - Oregon State University;

Margaret Fishkin - Williams College;

Laura Koziol - Boston University;

Dania Kim - University of Washington;

Marco Louisse - Harvey Mudd College;

Garren Stanley - University of Oregon;

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INTERLAKE HIGH SCHOOL (TOP 3 PERCENT);

Christina Tseng - University of California at Berkeley;

Christopher Finnila - Stanford University;

Todd Hollenbeck - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Ind.;

Jennifer Doman - Willamette University;

Yohko Fukuda - Cornell University;

Sarah Bremner - Occidental University;

Michelle Seelig - Wesleyan University;

Geri Smith - Brigham Young University;

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SAMMAMISH HIGH SCHOOL (3.9-4.0 GPA);

Delyn Andonian - U.S. Military Academy;

Kenneth Au - University of Washington;

Peter Choi - University of Michigan;

Shari Dorotik - University of Washington;

Angela Hamilton - University of Puget Sound;

Amy Ewing - Stanford University;

Solveig LaTurner - University of Washington;

Peter Lee - University of Washington;

Scott Lee - University of Washington;

Meredith McEachern - Western Washington University;

Stacey Mizokawa - University of Washington;

Loan Phan - University of Washington;

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ISSAQUAH HIGH SCHOOL (4.0 GPA);

Keri Arnold - Biola University in Los Angeles;

Laura Boeschen - Stanford University;

Salvatore DeSalvo - University of Washington;

Melinda Schneider - Georgetown University;

Carrie Sherman - Whitman College;

Mack Shultz - Harvard University;

Wilson Soong - University of Washington;

Amanda Svensson - Stanford University;

Bard Zajac - University of Washington;

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JUANITA HIGH SCHOOL (4.0);

John Chon - Harvey Mudd College;

Christine Marker - Western Washington University;

Laura Paros - Tufts University;

Kellee Van Keuren - Northwestern University;

Amy White - Seattle Pacific University;

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LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL (4.0);

Lanita Banister - Harding University;

Alicia Edelman - Gonzaga University;

Raymond Germani - Yale University;

Amber Green - Western Washington University;

Quang Nguyen - University of Washington;

Theodore Yu - University of California at Berkeley;

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MERCER ISLAND HIGH SCHOOL (4.0) Stacey Doerr - Stanford University;

Ann Gilbertson - University of Washington;

Tom Grayber - Harvard University;

Jeff Green - Stanford University;

Debra Hafermann - Dartmouth College;

Sarah Kidd - Amherst College;

Charles Lee - University of Washington;

Casey Little - University of Washington;

Steve Louden - Claremont McKenna College;

Neera Mahal - Whitman College;

Jay Reek - Pomona CollegeKathy Remine - (exchange student from Iceland);

Gabe Rosenthal - Claremont McKenna College;

Jon Rubenstein - University of California at San Diego;

Rachelle Tsunehara - University of California at Los Angeles;

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WOODINVILLE HIGH SCHOOL (TOP 10);

Karen Lindell - Washington State University;

Sridevi Venkata - University of Washington;

Bryce Wallace - University of Washington;

Corrine Plough - Shoreline Community College;

Brent Ronberg - University of Puget Sound;

Scott Flatness - Pacific Lutheran University;

Cameo Cody - University of Washington;

Sara Colson - Washington State University;

Sean E. Anderson - University of Washington;

Ben Billingham - University of Puget Sound;

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BOTHELL HIGH SCHOOL (TOP 10);

Kristina Adams - University of Washington;

Andrew Giddings - University of Puget Sound;

Vanessa Fife - Brigham Young University;

Rebecca Beckstrom - Western Washington University;

Kelly Waugh - University of Washington;

Frank Adams - Shoreline Community College/University of Washington;

Monika MacGuffie - Washington State University;

Daniel Rutkowski - University of Colorado;

Wendy Smedes - Seattle Pacific University;

Vladimir Tasic - (Yugoslavian transfer student);

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NEWPORT HIGH SCHOOL (TOP 4 PERCENT);

Todd Bode - U.S. Naval Academy;

Robert Dahlgren - University of Washington;

Jason Gram - Western Washington University;

Matthew Hawks - U.S. Naval Academy;

Aaron Hoover - University of Washington;

Kelly Lowe - The Evergreen State College;

Molly Nelson - Loyola Marymount University;

D'neka Patton - Whitman College;

Tora Rees - University of Puget Sound;

Brendon Ritz - U.S. Coast Guard Academy;

John Sato - University of Michigan;

Sarah Slabaugh - University of California at Santa Barbara;

David Summers - Harvey Mudd College;

Edwin Tam - University of Washington;

Sally Wang - University of California at Berkeley;

Kristin Watson - University of Puget Sound;

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REDMOND HIGH SCHOOL (TOP 10);

Deidre Dunkin - University of Washington;

Brent Lorenzen - Harvard University;

Regina Swift - Pepperdine University;

Joshua Maloof - University of Washington;

Christina Richardson - Brigham Young University;

Megan Carr - (exchange student to Portugal);

Lisa Smith - Western Washington University;

Carl Hagen - Air Force;

Tina Morasch - University of Washington;

Melissa Garing - Gonzaga University;

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SKYKOMISH HIGH SCHOOL;

Valedictorian - Dina Emerson - Bellevue Community College;

Salutatorian - Britt Hiatt - Everett Community College;

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LAKE WASHINGTON (TOP 3 PERCENT);

Marisa Mancke - University of Puget Sound;

Jenifer Gillins - Brigham Young University;

Lesley Holmes - Carroll College, Montana;

James Hunt - Stanford University;

Moonhee Kim - University of Washington;

Shawn Lee - University of Washington;

Daniel Luna - University of Washington;

Kristen Tronvig - University of San Diego;

Carter Danne - University of Washington;

Jennifer Edwards - Seattle Pacific University;

Demery Moore - Washington State University;

Cathy Ostrand - Western Washington University;

Matthew Pommer - University of Washington;

Yi-Ti Lin - University of Washington;

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MOUNT SI HIGH SCHOOL (TOP 10);

Nora Meier - University of Rochester;

Melissa McNeely - Lake Washington Voc Tech;

Rachel Richter - Bellevue Community College;

Amy Lee - Washington State University;

Jennifer Rene - University of Washington;

Curtis Keller - U.S. Military Academy;

Mark Lawrence - University of Washington;

Jennifer Kuyper - Bellevue Community College;

Cheri Sadler - University of Washington;

Cambria Love - Central Washington University;

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INGLEMOOR HIGH SCHOOL (TOP 10);

Roger Burton - Yale University;

Anthony Chavez - Massachusetts Institute of Technology;

Maria Dilulo - Northwest Nazarene College;

Anastacia Fuller - Shoreline Community College;

Kendra Fuller - Willamette University;

Kevin Herron - University of Washington;

Erin Iverson - Cornell University;

Daniel Kim - Cornell University;

Hooman Shahidi - University of Washington;

Lara Smith - University of Washington