Remarkable Seniors: Orange Park graduate helps family, plans military career

June 08--Tavian Raggins, a triple-jump star and motivated runner, said he needed to grab a pair of sneakers before track practice began one spring afternoon.

Raggins and a buddy who'd offered to drive him home, just around the corner from the school track, chuckled at jokes as sunrays beamed. But as Raggins and his friend, Melvin Briley, cruised up to Raggins' house, a hush swept the Toyota Corolla. It looked like Raggins' garage had blown up.

The boys watched as two men tossed baseball caps, T-shirts and mattresses onto the yard, coated with a layer of shattered glass. An eviction sign dangled from Raggins' front door and a padlock gripped its handle. Briley swung a U-turn and paused at a stop sign.

Raggins didn't get out of the car. He called his mother to drop the bombshell, his voice quivering as tears flooded his eyes.

"It was my whole house on the front lawn," recalled Raggins, who said he was 16 at the time. His mouth had hung open at the sight.

Raggins knew an eviction was coming. His father lost his job in 2009 and his mother, a registered nurse, couldn't afford the rent. The eight-member family's house was foreclosed around 2014, Raggins said. In the meantime, the family struggled to find a permanent residence, storing many of their belongings, including Raggins' running shoes, in the old garage. No problem, they assumed, since the people taking over the house weren't supposed to move in for a bit.

"Let's just run it off, man," Briley told Raggins that spring day in 2015. Raggins agreed. Briley knew Raggins better than most people during their first high school year and he was sure running would help. For Raggins, it was therapy, so they headed to the track.

Briley and Raggins met in the third grade when a fellow student challenged them to race around the playground. Briley won that race, but they both excelled in track and would place several years later in the state triple jump competition in Tallahassee. For that meet, Raggins stayed with Briley and his family in their hotel room. The boys weren't attached at the hip, but they were pretty close.

Briley said he and Raggins were usually the first to the track and the last to leave, soaked with sweat. They were probably the last to leave that spring day, and at the end of practice, Raggins fell to his knees and prayed. For himself, for his parents, for his four brothers and for his sister. For their home, which was no longer the same tangible manifestation of siding and window frames.

Raggins was quiet after that practice, crouching on a sidewalk stoop as Briley tried to talk with him. Briley admitted, if it were him, he wouldn't have wanted to talk either.

When Raggins returned to his family that evening, he dropped his bag and everyone sobbed.

"We lost everything. Everything," said his mother, Tinya Raggins. "That alone was just heartwrenching."

Around this time, running really kicked in for Raggins, a naturally athletic guy. He'd wake up just before 7:30 a.m., jog a couple of miles, which took him about five minutes and 35 seconds for each mile, and walk home. It was his excuse to get out of the house, to blow off steam after any night the family had a tiff. He's gone on a lot of runs.

The next summer, Raggins started working at a Krystal store for $8.05 an hour. That was supposed to feed him and his siblings, for whom he'd buy Little Debbie honey buns. They liked them warmed up with a glass of milk on the side. Fridays were particularly thrilling for the bunch, as Raggins returned home with a pepperoni pizza and cheesy bread from Lil' Caesar's.

All the while, Raggins continued going to school. He transferred to Orange Park High School from Oakleaf High School at the beginning of his senior year and enrolled in a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program. He improved his grades and was an engaged, thriving member of the high school community, said Orange Park Principal Clayton Anderson. He added Raggins' dedication is the main reason he graduated June 1 with his class.

Raggins doesn't live with his family anymore. His social worker suggested he look into a gig at the Moosehaven community, which provides him housing and a paid internship in maintenance. It's been an opportunity for him to grow and help others since he turned 18 years old. Raggins said among all the work, he always carved out time to dissect homework assignments. He said he now makes $351 every two weeks.

At Moosehaven, Raggins has one bedroom, one bathroom and a closet to hold the baseball caps and T-shirts that once littered his front lawn. Everything Raggins overcame only made him feel stronger, he said.

Raggins' mother said while the family members are still getting back on their feet, she prefers to focus on the strides they've taken. She imagines her future home, if she has it her way, with four bedrooms and a kitchen for her to cook Sunday meals. Spring flowers and palms will sprout from a grassy yard. She doesn't really care what she plants, though, as long as her garden is colorful.

Raggins plans to enlist in the U.S. Army in July, a decision that fills his mother with pride. He said he looks forward to following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was an Army man, and shadowing his mother's medical benevolence. Within the year, he plans to start work as a medic.

"That's just how fast I can do it," he said, his chin up.

MORE REMARKABLE SENIORS

JULIO GONZALEZ

Julio Gonzalez graduated from Duval Charter High School at Baymeadows in Jacksonville.

He came from Mexico in sixth grade to live in Florida with his father, leaving behind his mother and the rest of their family. Because of his accent, limited English and cultural differences, he was a frequent victim of bullying. By the 10th grade, though, he had advanced from a standard schedule of courses to the AICE Program, an advanced education program. He was selected as president of the student government, is captain of the cross-country and soccer teams, and is involved in other school activities and the national and Spanish honor societies. In the community he has dedicated hours to teaching young people to play guitar and piano and has been involved with hurricane relief. Julio plans to delay college for a two-year mission trip with his church. He has not been assigned a mission yet.

SHARISMA DANIEL

Sharisma Daniel graduated from A. Philip Randolph in Jacksonville.

The valedictorian of her class, Sharisma is an independent, ambitious role model in her school and community, said Sidell Kearns, a school counselor.

Sharisma has donated time and tutoring services to students at Eugene Butler Young Women and Young Men Leadership Academy. She gave news interviews about the impact of gun violence on students. "Sharisma is a persistent, determined, and committed student," Kearns said. "She realizes that a single failure becomes a hurdle on the path toward higher learning and success, which is why she is striving for success."

ELIANA NAMEN

Eliana Namen graduated from Bishop Kenny High in Jacksonville.

Eliana underwent back surgery her freshman year and surgery on a torn ACL her sophomore year, but she worked hard and even attended summer school to keep up. "Eliana played soccer for three years even though it would leave her in so much pain that she would literally have to be carried to bed," said Ceri Gamel, a guidance counselor. She has been on honor roll every quarter each year in high school and ranks high as a senior. She plans to attend Emory or Duke and to pursue a medical degree to become an orthopedic surgeon.

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