RALEIGH - It was just a single moment in a young woman's life, a few seconds on a video screen mashed among the moments of hundreds of other graduates.

But even imagining it was enough to bring Norma Villeda to tears.

"I would give anything to be with her," Villeda said by telephone, knowing that she would be unable to watch her daughter walk across the stage to accept her high school diploma.

Nancy Garcia graduated from Apex High School on June 11 during a ceremony at the Raleigh Convention Center. Her mother, father and little brother were in Mexico. Nancy's parents, who were living in the country illegally, were deported last year and were the subject of a December story in The News & Observer.

Nancy, 18, was born in this country and is a citizen. So she decided to stay behind and move in with family friends so she could finish her final year of high school.

Over a post-graduation dinner of Chinese food, she said that she had wanted to move to Mexico with her parents. But they wanted her to stay, to live the dream they sneaked over the border for, even if it meant the family would be torn apart.

"In the end," Nancy said, "it's going to be worth it."

She finished high school with honors. In the graduation program an asterisk accompanied her name, to note that she finished high school as a North Carolina Scholar. Nancy's GPA topped 3.5 as she completed a rigorous academic track.

She'll attend Salem College in Winston-Salem this fall, with a financial-aid package and scholarships that cover all but about $1,500 of her first-year bill.

"She's an excellent student," said Katherine Knapp Watts, Salem's dean of admissions and financial aid. "We thought she would add a lot to our campus."

The all-female school has about 1,100 students and offers the cozy atmosphere that Nancy was looking for. After hearing about her family situation, Watts reached out to Nancy and encouraged her to apply.

"Her story is really compelling. The things she has achieved and her determination - they were certainly a factor in her admission and our desire to have her come to campus," Watts said. "I think she's going to do well."

Nancy has responsibilities that other high school seniors do not. She makes her own doctor and dentist appointments. She makes sure she has car insurance and has navigated the college-admissions process without help from her parents.

"It's not easy," her mother said. "She is learning too soon, I think."

The way her parents saw it, though, Nancy had no choice. In the United States, Nancy's father, Carlos, ran a business installing windows. Her mother cleaned houses and earned a GED. The couple owned a home in Apex.

In Mexico, her parents live in different towns, in the hope that finding work will be easier if they look in two places.

They haven't had much luck. Nancy's mother has not found a job.

Her father works a couple of days a week, washing cars some days and selling butcher paper on others.

Nancy's 8-year-old brother, Carlitos, has had trouble adjusting to Mexican life. Because his Spanish-writing skills need improvement, he'll have to repeat the second grade.

Villeda hopes that Carlitos, also a U.S. citizen, will be able to join his sister someday.

"It's so difficult," Villeda said. "It's not easy to raise our family apart."

They'll be together soon, at least for a visit.

Nancy is flying to Mexico in a few weeks for a monthlong stay.

Nancy can't wait. She misses her mother's cooking, especially the caldo de pollo.

No matter the language, there's nothing like mom's chicken soup.