Like many Oak Harbor High School seniors set to graduate next Monday, Ally Tennial is glowing. And she has special reason to be.

When she receives her diploma next week, she will become the first person in her family to do so in three generations. Sweetening the occasion is the fact that in the fall she will go on to attend Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.

“Never did I imagine I would go to college,” she said.

Tennial, 18, has faced and overcome adversity that would make most people crumble. According to Oak Harbor High School Dean Linda Otruba, many students who face lesser hurdles don’t make it.

“When I look at Ally, I see a girl who could have easily gone a different way,” Otruba said. “She’s overcome every obstacle put in front of her.”

Tennial has been in foster care since she was 3 years old. Over the past 15 years, she has been in more than 30 homes. The constant moves can be partly attributed to the fact that she has four brothers, two younger and two older. But some homes were worse than others.

“Things happened to me that made me grow up fast,” Tennial said.

Her life began to change several years ago when she started attending Oak Harbor Church of the Nazarene. With faith, hope, and some help from inspirational educators such as Otruba and leadership teacher Ryan Lipstein, Tennial has trudged her way to graduation.

Otruba, the mother of her best friend, has been like a second mother, while Libstein has been a constant voice in Tennial’s ear telling the struggling teen “you can.” But even with the help, it’s been a tough road.

“I won’t say my grade point average because it’s so bad,” said Tennial, with a laugh. “It hasn’t been easy.”

However, Tennial’s triumphs and heart have not gone unnoticed. She has agreed to be a speaker at her classes graduation ceremony Monday evening. The event begins at 6 p.m. and will be held at Wildcat Memorial Stadium, located at 1 Wildcat Way.

“She puts in 110 percent and look at what she’s been able to overcome,” Lipstein said. “She’s such a beautiful person. She deserves the best.”

Tennial’s future likely lies with the church. After college, she hopes to become a pastor and make a difference in people’s lives. She said she “has a lot of love to give” and believes her experiences will make her particularly useful.

“I know what it feels like to not be loved,” she said. “I want to make a difference.”