 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
She was tired of being a teaching assistant and instead, wanted to be a teacher. It was one of her reasons for going back to school - that, and getting on with her life. She had not been to school in 20 years when she enrolled at Tidewater Community College.
"I was very scared my first day. I was afraid of failure. I was too old to fail," Williams said about her first day of school at Tidewater Community College. Williams said a lot had changed since she had been to school. Her first class was an English class, and it was taught on computers. "I had never touched a computer in my life,” Williams said. “I asked the teacher if I was in the wrong class, because the class was held in the computer room."
But with the help of her professor, she learned to use the computer and passed the class. Williams attended school full-time while her son was a senior in high school. When he graduated, she had to change her work schedule so she could still attend school and send her son to college. Williams began working split shifts where she would work during the mornings and evenings and attend school during the day. After her son went off to college, Williams moved out of her house and she a live-in job at the Union Missions Family Shelter for homeless women and children in downtown Norfolk. She lived there for two years and later moved out to another live-in job taking care of an elderly woman in Chesapeake.
Williams took care of the woman for five years until last March when she passed away. After the woman's death, the family asked Williams to stay at the apartments and take on the manager's position in exchange for free rent. Williams is still currently living and working at the Mills Apartments in Chesapeake. Even though Williams has an extremely busy schedule with school and work, she is still able to find time to give back to the community. Every Friday night, she volunteers her time to teach Bible study classes at the Union Mission Family Shelter. She also gathers donations of clothing and food for the women and provides relief for workers year round.
Williams graduated from TCC in three years and then, determined to be a teacher, decided to further her education. One day when looking for colleges her nephew suggested that she apply to Virginia Wesleyan. She applied to the college and for financial aid. After several weeks, she received the call from the Wesleyan telling her that she was accepted, and that she had the financial aid she needed.
"I was so excited," she said. "After I hung up the phone I called everyone I knew to tell them that I was going to Virginia Wesleyan College." Williams maintains a 3.58 GPA as she earns her teaching certification and works in the college's Learning Resource Center. "Janice has great relationships with all the students that she helps," said Linda Sykes, assistant to the Learning Center. "She always comes in with a smile and a joke. Everyone likes her." Williams works in the Learning Center as part of the work-study program set up by her financial aid. "I really like it here at Virginia Wesleyan College," she said. "The professors care about you and they are one hundred percent about what they teach."
She recalled a week when she was very ill and could not make it to class. "I called my teachers to tell them I was not going to be in because I was sick,” Williams said. “I thought they would ask me where my papers were, but instead, they asked me about how I was doing." Williams says that, with the help of her professors, she is now excelling in subjects that she failed in high school. "Janice is a terrific worker," said Dr. Jayne Sullivan, assistant professor of education and special education. "She has a wealth of experience when it comes to working with children, and she has a terrific sense of humor."
Williams has accomplished a lot, but she says she did not do it on her own. She attributes much of her success to her family, her faith and friends at the Emmaus Road Baptist Church. Her sister is a teacher and when times were down, her sister gives her inspiring quotes that pick her back up. Her faith has also been important. "My faith is vital, more important than daily food," she said. "Without the Lord in my life, I would not be here today. Everything that I have been able to do is because of the Lord." Williams, who has diabetes, has overcome many obstacles in her life, including a longtime weight problem. Last January, she started a weight loss program and has lost 48 pounds so far. "If I am a new person on the inside, I figure why not be a new person on the outside," she said.
After a rewarding and challenging season, Head Cross Country Coach, Keith Moore, resigned on March 31. His choice was based on a personal decision as he has decided to devote more time to his other two jobs, director of Residence Life and associate dean of students, as well as complete his dissertation by June. As a coach, he felt that his student athletes deserved more attention and he did not want to have to put them second to his other responsibilities.
"I enjoyed the season, it was a great experience," said Moore. "It was nothing like I have ever experienced before." Throughout the season Moore was pleased with the turnout of new runners because he was able to get the athletes to challenge themselves and become accustomed to formal running techniques. "I challenged them to make personal improvements and to race against themselves," said Moore. Moore wanted his runners to make running something that they enjoyed as they worked toward what really counted: the ODAC race.
"Nothing else matters except for ODACs," said Moore. "Every team makes it to ODACs; it's the last race of the season and that is what counts." The team faired well and did better than last year in their final race. As the search is still in progress under the direction of Associate Athletic Director,Joanne Renn, Moore still reiterates to his runners that they must continue to run hard and have fun. "They need to stay strong and stay together in order to welcome a new coach," said Moore. "If this happens, good seasons will follow."
To erg, which plainly means to row a boat, takes a certain amount of skill and training as well as strong back, arms and legs. "Erging is torture," said freshman Jamie Dungan, when asked what was the toughest part about being on a crew team. A small group of freshman have decided they want to be the founders of Virginia Wesleyan's first Crew Club. Their first task has been to organize a club so they can begin to recruit any students who have an interest in rowing.
Freshman Elizabeth Owens, president of the Crew Club, observed that there was a growing demand for a rowing team and decided that she would take it upon herself to bring rowing to Wesleyan. Owens has a lot of experience from her years of rowing in high school. From the initial gathering of students, only a few have experience being part of a crew team. But that is not important. “No one who joins needs any rowing experience," Dungan said. "We just need people to come out and have a good time."
Owens and her friend Cameron Larson have begun talks with the Hampton Roads Rowing Club (HRRC). The HRRC should be helpful with the development of the new Crew Club. "If we are lucky enough to be sponsored, it will help supply the team with our first boats," said Owens. "It will take a lot of money to get the right equipment and facilities for the crew team, as well as a place to store the boats." Because students may not know much about rowing, Owens is trying to find a good instructor for the novice team. By the fall semester, the Crew Club hopes to begin practicing in the Lafayette river. There are a lot of basics that the crew will need to learn in order to compete.
"We'll have to teach people the right way to row," said Dungan. "They'll have to learn how to get in and out of the boat, as well as pay attention to the coxswain, who steers the boat and keeps the tempo of the people rowing." Hopefully by the spring, the Crew Club can begin competing against other schools. Old Dominion University and Christopher Newport University are both nearby schools that already have crew teams. With the support of the campus community, members of the Crew Club will be able to bring a sport to Virginia, which they enjoyed before they ever found out about Wesleyan. Any students interested in joining the Crew Club can e-mail Elizabeth Owens, eaowens@vwc.edu or Jamie Dungan at jmdungan@vwc.edu for more information.
Site created and maintained by Linda De Rosa.