(This post has been updated from the print edition to correct the date and time of the graduation.)

Jessica Turner did not have an easy start to high school. She began attending Benicia High School, but she said it was not a good fit academically for her.

“I had really bad attendance,” she said. “I didn’t like being around a lot of people, so that was ultimately ruining my grades.”

As freshman year was winding down, Turner’s counselor told her she would have to go to Liberty High School as a junior, but she instead decided to go as a sophomore.

“It’s been the best decision I’ve made so far,” she said.

Ellie Delgado had a similar story.

“I was failing out of high school,” she said. “I got very depressed and stopped coming to school and stopped caring basically. My counselors kept telling me ‘You’re going to have to go into independent study or work harder.’ I said ‘I can’t.’”

Eventually, Delgado’s counselors came to the conclusion that she should go to Liberty.

“At first I was scared because I heard horror stories about Liberty, but right when I came here I felt at home,” she said.

Going to Liberty worked out very well for Turner and Delgado, who will be graduating as this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian respectively. In fact, Turner already completed all her credits in January and Delgado completed hers in April.

“It’s an honor,” Turner said of her achievement. “I’ve worked hard to get to where I am. It’s been a long road to get here. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have expected myself to be valedictorian.”

“It’s been a hard and very, very long journey, but I’m glad that I came to Liberty,” Delgado said. “I’m glad that I’m finally graduating and that I’m the salutatorian.”

As the town’s continuation high school, students and faculty say that Liberty is subject to a lot of misconceptions, especially pertaining to its student population.

“People tend to have a bad look about Liberty,” Turner said. “They don’t understand that it’s not like that. This is a great school with great opportunities that they give students. We all feel connected.”

“It’s like a family,” Delgado said. “Nobody’s really a bad kid here.”

Turner and Delgado got to enjoy several activities at Liberty, including being on the school’s softball team and going on field trips. Turner was also yearbook editor for two years, was a student representative for Liberty at school board meetings in the fall and was even named to the National Society of High School Scholars.

The two also had a lot of fun learning, even in unique ways. As part of Nicci Nunes’ science class, they got to raise baby ducks.

“They were like my children to me,” Turner said. “I babied them, I taught them, they would follow me around the hallways.”

Turner and Delgado are especially grateful for their teachers who have supported them not just academically but also personally.

“You get to see them multiple times a day, and they get to know how you learn and what you need to do,” Turner said.

“You really bond with them,” Delgado said. “They’re always gonna be there for you. You can go through something at home, and they’re still gonna be there for you.”

Turner said that after her grandfather died, staff was very supportive of her and would giver her time to grieve. She would even get hugs from faculty members as she would be pulled out of school to go visit her grandfather at the hospital.

“You get to know these people,” she said. “You don’t get that option at the high school since there’s so many kids and so many teachers.”

“They get very invested,” Delgado said. “They’ll find out stuff that you didn’t even want to tell them, but they already know.”

Turner plans to go to Solano Community College in the fall, and Delgado plans to go to Diablo Valley College. Both ultimately want to transfer to UC Davis to enter fields in animal science. Delgado hopes to get her own farm and discipline horses and cows. Turner wants to become a veterinarian.

“Ultimately, I want to own my own zoo,” Turner said.

Both graduates advise that incoming seniors work hard and stay motivated.

“Be yourself, stay focused on your work and come up with a goal for your future,” Delgado said. “Once you have a goal, then everything will fall into place for you.”

“Liberty has a lot of amazing opportunities for you,” Turner said. “You just have to try to get them. I see kids taking advantage of (senioritis) here, and it’s heartbreaking because you are at the best place to be.”

Liberty’s graduation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, June 8 at the Benicia Yacht Club, located at 400 East Second St.