This 17-year-old high schooler was a model student. Only problem was that she was actually 28 years old.
· Jun 18, 2023 · NottheBee.com

Most of us, as we near our 30s, can probably pretty confidently say, "I would never, ever go back to high school."

Most of us.

Martha Jessenia Gutierrez-Serrano, 28, enrolled in Hahnville High School in June 2022 and attended the entire 2022-2023 school year, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

School officials notified the sheriff's office in May they had received a tip that a student on record as being 17 was in fact an adult in her mid-20s, the release said.

I don't exactly know how one discovers a "tip" like that. How exactly do you learn that the girl who sits next to you in fifth period is actually almost 30? What exactly is the gossip chain like at this high school?

Well, apparently it's an effective one, because it was true: Ms. Gutierrez-Serrano is indeed 28 years old. The last time she was high school-aged, Barack Obama was just beginning his second term as president. Donald Trump was still just thought of mostly as a game show host. You could still rent a movie from a brick-and-mortar Blockbuster store. It was a long time ago.

Apparently this whole scam was a family affair:

Detectives determined Gutierrez-Serrano and her mother, 46-year-old Marta Elizeth Serrano-Alvarado, used a fraudulent passport and birth certificate to enroll Gutierrez-Serrano in school, the sheriff's office said.

Apparently she told investigators that she enrolled in the school to learn English. Well, that definitely shows a real go-get-em attitude, that's for sure. And according to the local sheriff, she was actually a pretty decent student:

"She was in school, she minded her own business, she did her schoolwork. She caused no trouble, she was not a disciplinary problem."

Perhaps therapy would be a good next step for her.


Ready to join the conversation? Subscribe today.

Access comments and our fully-featured social platform.

Sign up Now
App screenshot