Stonington — If Sanji Coleman never graduated from high school, it may not have been that surprising.

When the Stonington High School senior was 2 years old, her mother decided she was unable to care for her and gave custody to Sanji’s grandmother. She’s never known her father. When she was 7, she and her grandmother Alice Coleman moved from Willimantic to a Pawcatuck apartment because her uncle lived here. But she had difficulty with the transition from Catholic to public school.

The first two years of high school she struggled with grades, was picked on by some students for her always upbeat personality and wanted to be homeschooled. But with the help of Principal Mark Friese and her teachers she began to blossom in her junior year.

Her grades improved, she became the manager/statistician for the football and boys and girls basketball teams and joined the track team. She continued her passion for singing: being chosen for the school’s girls choir, appearing in a high school musical and singing for patients at the Avalon Health Center.

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“The past few years I came out of my shell,” she said.

Meanwhile, she cared for her grandmother through some health problems and worked with special education students in the unified talent show and the school TLC Community Classroom program.

“When people said ‘look at what you can do,’ it motivated me and boosted my self esteem,” she said, acknowledging there were many times when she could have given up. “It made me feel good about myself. I realized I can do this.”

On June 18 she will graduate and move on to Three Rivers Community College and then Fisher College in Boston to study criminal justice. She is also joining the Army National Guard and a career in military intelligence is a possibility.

“She could have given up but she had tenacity and perseverance,” said Friese. “When I see her today, I smile ear to ear. She’s involved in so many things. I can’t be more pleased about how things turned out for her.”

He said Coleman is a great example of “when school is family.”

Friese said that Coleman will do well in whatever she does.

“She’s got the personality, the infectious smile and she brightens up my day. She’s a young lady who brightens up the room when she walks in,” he said.

Up until the past few years, school had been a struggle both socially and academically for Coleman who had been very shy. She said some students didn’t care for her always smiling personality despite all she’s faced. A mentor with Big Brothers/Big Sisters helped he overcome some of her social anxiety when she was younger.

Teachers at West Broad Street School and Pawcatuck Middle School helped her with extra tutoring and support for reading and writing. She would go to school early for extra help.

“My teachers really motivated me. They gave me the boost I needed,” she said.

Her freshman year she earned “D”s and “C”s and especially struggled with math. She continued, however, to excel in music.

Coleman wanted to be homeschooled after her sophomore year.

“But Mr. Friese talked about what high school has to offer,” she said. “Mr. Friese has always been there for me. He’s always been one of those teachers who encouraged me to stay on track.”

Another has been French teacher Eileen Fiore who encouraged Coleman to pursue her love of music.

“She always has something to say to get my adrenaline going,” she said. “She knows how much I love music. I could always go to her if I had a problem.”

And then there’s Alice Coleman.

“Sure we fight sometimes, but my grandmother is all I have in my life at this point. No matter what we go through in life she’s my grandmother. I respect her. She’s always been there for me. In a way my grandmother is my mother,” she said. “Where I am now I would never be without her.”

While many of her classmates would assume she would be heading to college to study music, Coleman is instead pursuing a degree in criminal justice and joining the National Guard.

“I love the idea of serving and volunteering to help people,” she said. “ I love the idea of serving my country.”

She said her uncle, grandmother and mother all served in the military. She said the idea of a career in criminal justice is not all that unusual as she and her grandmother share a love of the television drama NCIS.

“I have this obsession with forensics and crime scenes,” she said laughing. “It’s something I’ve loved but I didn’t show it to many people. It was inside of me.”

As for her love of music, she said she’s also been accepted at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, it’s something she will also continue to pursue.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas