Every senior has a story. For Adairsville High School Senior Kymoni Pullum, it is one of true perseverance, grit, and determination.
One month until graduation, and for Kymoni, college was never an “if,” it was a “when.” His mother instilled that in him before he could solve two-step math problems. However, a series of heartbreaking events paved a much harder road to college than Kymoni could have ever imagined.
Kymoni was raised in a single parent home. At the age of 11, he met his father for the first time. Within months, his father passed away from health complications.
“After that, my brother moved back into the house, and he helped me with the grief like a counselor would,” said Kymoni.
About five years later, while quarantined at home during a bout with COVID-19, Kymoni found his mother gasping for air and called 911.
“I did not know what to do, watching my mother fighting for her life right in front of me,” said Kymoni.
Less than an hour later, he learned his mother had passed away.
“I had just lost the only person I truly admired and adored with every bone in my body within three hours of just waking up,” said Kymoni. “I did not come out my room to eat or talk for days.”
A junior at Cass High School, Kymoni knew he had to make hard decisions that would greatly impact his future.
“I knew if I wanted to graduate and go to college, I needed to be in a better position in my life,” said Kymoni. “I needed more stability.”
So, he moved to Adairsville to live with his aunt.
“I packed up all my things and moved for the first time in my life,” added Kymoni.
“Kymoni had a choice to make for his life,” said AHS Lead Counselor Kellen Martinak. “He could remain grief-stricken over the loss of both his father and mother, or he could use that pain to push him to be the best version of himself. Kymoni chose to be the best young man, student, and son he could be. Moving to a new school is not easy but Kymoni wanted to make his mother proud. Quitting or giving up was not an option for Kymoni.”
Kymoni joined the AHS football team, made homecoming court his senior year, and is one of the most liked students in the building by his peers, teachers, and coaches. He is also an honor graduate, an Adairsville Lion’s Club Scholarship recipient, and will attend Jacksonville State University in the fall.
“If I did not go to college, I just know my mother would come out the grave because she said since I was a kid that I was going to college no matter what and I stuck to that,” said Kymoni.
While one chapter ends for Kymoni, another will begin about 70 miles from home, making his mother and the Bartow County School System proud.