'No Matter What Happens, Keep Going': College Graduate Thankful To Be Alive After Crash
DENVER (CBS4)- College graduation is an important life moment for most but for Zuton Lucero-Mills, the feeling of receiving her diploma is overwhelming. This woman has overcome what some would call insurmountable odds.
"Oh… I'm feeling so many different emotions!" exclaimed Mills.
On Friday, Mills graduated from Metro State University of Denver, Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in individualized studies. She created her own degree called literary empowerment for children.
Not only did Mills graduate with a 3.9 GPA while raising 12 children, she defied all odds after a car crash left her with a less than 1% chance to live.
In October of 2017, a driver with a bullet wound hit the Mills' family car head on. All six family members inside the vehicle were hurt, three critically.
The impact caused a hole in Mills' heart and she flat-lined at the hospital where she would spend the next 98 days.
"You know, when I woke up after the accident, clearly I recognized that God is saying 'You're not finished yet,'" Mills continued, "It's like God is saying, 'Now you get to begin.'"
Despite her odds, Mills had children to take care of and was determined to survive.
"They're the reason that I was not willing to die. How could I leave my children behind?"
She said her family was her rock and on Friday, her parents, husband and 10 of her 12 children were there to watch as she walked across the stage and received her diploma.
Mills says she hopes her story inspires others to never give up.
"No matter what happens, keep going. That if God sees fit to open your eyes another day, that you have more work to do and to do that work with everything in you and to not stop until God says it's over."
That's exactly what Mills plans to do. She says after she wakes up from a well-deserved nap, she will begin to prepare for more school. She is enrolled at MSU for the fall where she will tackle her M.A. in social work.
MSU Denver's graduation will see an estimated 2,200 bachelor's graduates, compared with last spring's total of 2,286. This semester's graduating class includes 866 students of color, led by 546 Latino students. A total of 219 students completed master's degrees, among them 155 in social work, 27 in teaching, 16 in accountancy, 13 in health administration and eight in business.
