Roman Rivera, 20, finishes stocking shelves at Shopper's Food Warehouse as late as 1:30 in the morning, but he makes sure he is up by 5 a.m. every weekday for his commute by Metrobus from Seven Corners to Pimmit Hills Alternative High School near Tysons Corner.
"I have the alarm. I put it up all the way," Rivera said. "I don't feel like it's difficult because I like it. I enjoy my school. When I am learning something new, that makes me feel happy and strong."
Rivera never attended school in Mexico, his native country, because his family was too poor. Rivera now reads and writes in English better than he can in Spanish, since he started working full time in Mexico when he was 9.
"My dream is to get my high-school diploma. My best dream is to be a singer," said Rivera, who once cut down a tree in Mexico to make his own guitar.
Rivera's older brother first emigrated to America when Rivera was 7. His brother learned to survive on his own as a 11-year-old in California before eventually moving to Fairfax County. Rivera joined his brother four years ago, and his brother helped enroll him in school.
"You have to get your high-school diploma. You have to show who you are. You have to get what you want, that's what he always told me," Rivera said. "That advice really hit. We always stuck together. We only have each other."