On June 9, Tiffany Seagraves will become the first person in three generations of her mother’s family to graduate high school.

She’ll also become the first senior in more than a decade to do it without missing one day of class.

“It wasn’t hard, because I didn’t have to force myself to get up. I really loved school a lot,” she said.

She has a picture frame in her room of all of the perfect attendance awards she has received since she was a kindergartner at Sprunica Elementary School.

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It’s very rare to have someone go all 13 years with perfect attendance, Principal Shane Killinger said.

In 2003, when Shaun Taggart made the milestone, according to Brown County Democrat archives.

Steven Williams also received an award for 13 years of perfect attendance in 2006, according to the high school.

Tiffany received the special award from Superintendent Laura Hammack during senior night May 1.

“I was happy that I got recognized by the superintendent,” Tiffany said. “It felt good. Everyone was clapping and everything.”

Life hasn’t been easy for her.

Her paternal grandparents were granted guardianship when she was 3. Her living environment up to that point had caused learning delays, said her grandmother, Jean Seagraves.

“She basically started her life at that point, so she’s always been somewhat behind,” Jean said.

“To go every day and face the obstacles she faced was pretty amazing, because most people would get frustrated and just not go deal with it. But that wasn’t her.”

Tiffany said she loves school, and that’s why she doesn’t want to miss a day.

Her grandpa would get up with her every morning and make sure she was on the bus — until this school year, when she began driving herself.

“She is the first one in three generations on her mother’s side of the family to even graduate from school, period,” Jean said.

“It really drove her, I think, to perform and excel. She wanted to be that person to achieve that for that side of the family, so that was a motivator.”

Her favorite class is concert band. She has been playing the flute since seventh grade. Last summer, she met her boyfriend during summer marching band.

She’s even influenced him to have perfect attendance this year.

“She went and picked him up and made sure he went,” Jean said with a laugh.

At the beginning of her senior year, her grandpa visited the high school to make sure the administration was aware that Tiffany was on track for perfect attendance her entire school career.

“School is so hard for her because of her beginning background and stuff, so that was really one of the only awards she was ever going to get, so we wanted to make sure,” Jean said.

It was important to Tiffany that her grandparents schedule any doctor’s appointments toward the end of the school day so she wouldn’t get an absence and break her streak.

“I am so proud of her and to watch her … grow up to be this young lady and to not miss a day, that is a principal’s dream,” Killinger said.

“She is so awesome,” he said, giving her a high five.

Tiffany describes herself as outgoing. She enjoys babysitting and playing with younger children. She wants to attend Ivy Tech next fall so she can work as a teacher in a daycare center.

“I like teaching kids,” she said.

“I think a lot of that goes back to her background,” Jean said.

“She has compassion for kids. She wants to help kids who are also struggling.

“She’s a good-hearted kid. I’m quite proud of her.”