Tasheen Fletcher

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Tasheen Fletcher knew what she wanted to be when she was 13.

After watching her cousins struggle in group homes, foster homes and juvenile facilities, the 18-year-old decided to become a social worker so she could help people — mostly kids, Tasheen said.

Tasheen, a senior graduating from Immokalee High School, plans to attend Barry University, a Catholic university in Miami, in the fall. She plans to pursue a career as a social worker. She also wants to obtain a minor in physiology.

She smiles through her brown eyes and 5-foot-4-inch frame when discussing college.

“I feel excited and scared because I’m moving away from home and I’ll have to do a lot of things alone,” Tasheen said.

Tasheen, who also got accepted to Morgan State University in Baltimore, and Delaware State University, decided to stay close to home after her stepfather died in case her mother, who lives in Immokalee, needs her help.

She excelled throughout her high school career despite a number of challenges, including the deaths of three family members.

One day before the start of her junior year, her stepfather died of a heart attack.

During her freshman year in high school, Tasheen’s younger brother died of leukemia and her great-grandmother, who she grew up with in Maryland, died.

Tasheen, born in Maryland and a resident of Hurlock, Md., until her freshman year in high school, moved to Immokalee to live with her mother, stepfather, sisters and brother.

Tasheen and her older sister were raised by their grandmother in Maryland.

Tasheen said when she first arrived in Immokalee, a farmworking community she had only visited in the past, she was very shy. But after all of the deaths in her family, she realized that life is short and she should appreciate it and her family.

She is one of five children. Her siblings are Rodisha Chester, 25, Jon’e Warren, 10, Kalifa Warren, 9, and John Warren Jr., who died at 3.

Tasheen said her high school experience was also a cultural experience. She learned some Spanish and Creole along the way.

Tasheen participated in the Immokalee High JROTC for three years, becoming a command sergeant major as a junior.

Tasheen has served on College Reach Out Program (CROP), Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) and the Workforce Council.

Lt. Col. Robert Hine, a senior Army instructor for Immokalee’s JROTC, describes Tasheen as responsible, committed and a leader.

“She has always been very active in her school and endeavors,” Hine said.

Hine said he could always count on Tasheen to get a job done, even when it meant working with peers assertively.

“She’s just a good kid,” Hine said.

Tasheen works part time at Rib City Grill in Immokalee to pay her senior expenses and to help with house bills.

Tasheen’s mother Wysetta Warren cannot offer enough praise for her child.

“I’m very proud of her,” an overwhelmed Warren said.

Warren is happy with her daughter’s career and school choices.

She has been a self-sufficient teenager who hasn’t given Warren any problems. Warren said she doesn’t have to worry about Tasheen disobeying her.

“I pray and I know that she will keep going the way she is now with her morals and values,” Warren said.

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Class of 2008: IMMOKALEE HIGH SCHOOL

Class size: 294

Commencement: 7 p.m. May 23 at Harborside Convention Center in Fort Myers

Class officers: There are no senior class officers.