Emily Raney could have let the passing of her mother, Lauren, on Dec. 16, 2016, do her in. She could have spent the past four years at Southern Regional High School as a bitter, angry teenager who blamed cancer for a personal struggle that left her without hope, purpose and a sense of direction. She could have thrown in the towel and made a lot of excuses while doing it.

“That’s just not me,” she said, less than two weeks before graduation.