Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 15, 1993 TAG: 9305150204
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN A. COYLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Royer earned an associate degree in legal assisting.
After receiving a secretarial degree from National Business College, Royer - who lives in Roanoke and described her age as "just shy of 60" - earned a bachelor's in psychology from Hollins College.
In 1990 she earned a certificate in legal assisting from Virginia Western before going on to the degree program.
"All I want is to find an attorney to be my mentor so that next I can tackle the state bar" without attending law school. That still can be done in Virginia, though it is difficult. "They've made it practically impossible to follow in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln and other famous notable attorneys," she said.
Tammy Lynn Martin of Smith Mountain Lake is proud of the fact that she graduated debt-free. The 23-year-old did that by working as a hostess at Stephen's Galley at the lake while selling her own line of jewelry and earning scholarships in preliminaries to the Miss Virginia Pageant.
"Great, wonderful, marvelous. It's the best feeling in the world to be honest. I thought I'd never make make it," said John M. Mitchell, 24, of Rocky Mount. "Booker T. Washington got me through this," said the business management graduate, referring to his job at the national monument, where he's worked as a cashier, cutting trees, mowing lawns and doing data input and maintenance to get through school.
There were 414 students scheduled to receive associate degrees in ceremonies at the Roanoke Civic Center. That was a 25 percent increase over two years ago. President Charles L. Downs said that reflects a trend in community colleges.
Downs said there is a great demand for graduates of the school's health programs and an increasing demand for technical-program graduates. He cited the nursing program, which has admitted about 60 students out of 300 to 400 applicants for the fall and has a waiting list. The economy and increasing tuitions at four-year colleges also have contributed to the increase, Downs said.
In addition to the degrees, Virginia Western awarded 65 certificates from occupational and career studies programs.
Steve Daniels, of Roanoke, said it felt "kind of odd" to finally be graduating. Daniels, a part-time student like 68 percent of his classmates, said graduation sneaked up on him. After six years, he said, all of a sudden one day his adviser told him he had enough credits to graduate.
by CNB