Inmate receives GED certificate
Amid hugs and tears, a Cameron County inmate received her General Educational Development certificate on Friday.
Despite making some mistakes in life, Esmeralda Gonzalez, 21, received her certificate Friday morning from Sheriff Omar Lucio at the meeting room of the Sheriff's Department Headquarters.
"This is a very important step," Lucio said as he prepared to hand off the certificate. "We're very proud ... continue moving forward. We don't want to see you (Gonzalez) back here. Continue moving on."
Lucio said that the Cameron County Jail System has 16 female inmates who have completed close to 95 percent of the requirements to earn their GED certificates.
"I want to thank my mom for being there for me even after some mistakes," a tearful Gonzalez said. "Someday I want to be like her, a strong woman who keeps going."
Gonzalez had been arrested when she was 17 for burglary of a habitation.
"It was a mistake I made in the past, I'm very sorry," she said. "I want to move forward, there is so much I want to do I want to go to college."
Gonzalez hopes to be released in February and begin taking college courses in the summer.
