Sirena Harrell was in her second semester at Miami Dade College when she lost her son to a hail of bullets.
Fifteen-year-old Isaiah "Zay" Solomon had been attending the wake for his teenage cousin, also a victim of gun violence, in West Little River when he got caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. His killer has never been found, and his mom has never been the same.
In Their Own Words: Families of Young Victims of Gun Violence Speak
Harrell, 34, went back to school just days after burying Isaiah. She remembered how much she stressed the importance of education to her son and 8-year-old daughter, so she trudged head on in spite of emotional breakdowns during class periods and "tough days."
"I would be sitting in class and I would bust out crying and I would have to excuse myself, go to the restroom wash my face and come back and continue my studies," Harrell said. "I would still get up every day because I still have my daughter that I have to live for."
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
