Divorced, separated, together- parents are parents, no matter what and play a large role in a child's life.
    Junior Kerrigan Ban has struggled with the absence of both parents for the past several years.
    “I was six [when my father passed],” Ban said. “And I was eleven for my mother’s death.”
     Ban does not remember much of her father, but says that her mother played a large role in her life. Both parents were killed in car accidents.
     “My father was on his way home from work and a drunk driver hit him,” Ban said. “And my mother was on her way home and she was at a red light and a tractor trailer didn’t stop and crashed into her.”
       Ban had not known much of her father due to her parents splitting when she was only four. Though she had not known much of her father, her grandfather has stood as a fatherly role all of her life.
    “I always saw my grandfather as someone to turn to,” Ban said. “Even when I was little, I always had seen him like one. He acts like my father.” 
    Ban had not originally been going to GS, but after her mother’s passing, she began to live with her grandmother.
     “I went to Saltsburg when I was younger,” Ban said. “But when I lived with my grandmother I came to [GS], I started at [GS] in sixth grade.”
     In the hard time of her mother’s passing, Ban turned to sports such as gymnastics as an outlet.
     “As soon as I moved I started gymnastics,” Ban said. “I made more friends and it kept me busy so it kept everything off my mind.”
      Though Ban is raised in a stable, permanent home, things can be seemingly different.
     “My grandparents are very old fashioned; they always need to know where I am,” Ban said, “I had a cell phone when I was younger, but after I moved in with my grandparents I was no longer allowed one.”
    Though Ban is thankful for them, she fought with her grandparents regularly in the beginning.
    “I fought with my grandparents a lot at first,” Ban said. “But I understand why they were so strict as I got older, I realized that they were only trying to help me better myself in life.”
      Though it may not be a “normal” teenage life, Ban is glad that she has her grandparents to look after her.
    “I’m glad that my grandparents raised me, I’d have them over anyone else,” Ban said. “I don’t think I would be who I am today without them.”

Kerrigan Ban

Jessica Bauer