Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506090005
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY WALKER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But the lives of two college-bound seniors took unpredictable turns.
Jamie Beard's life turned upside down in 1983, when her parents died in a murder-suicide. "It was all over the 6 o'clock news that night," she recalls.
Beard, then 6, went to live with her aunt, Sandra Flinchum. "My aunt and uncle raised me as if they were my mom and dad," Beard says.
This past November, Beard received another blow when her aunt died of cancer. Beard went to live with her grandmother.
"She and I weren't getting along very well, so I moved in with my boyfriend, and that's where I am now. He's really supportive and he really wants me to graduate."
In short, Beard, 18, has had to grow up fast - much faster than her peers.
"I either get along with people older than I am or younger than I am," she says. "I cannot make a connection with my own group."
Her life is different from theirs. She spends most of her time on schoolwork, at home in Salem with her boyfriend, Gary Shaver, or working at Plywood & Plastics, a store off Williamson Road in Roanoke.
Beard prefers the freedom of life on her own to living with family, she says.
Beard's three older sisters, a cousin and grandmother live in the area. Her aunt was "the glue that held our family together."
Losing her aunt was difficult. "If anybody in my family really understood me, it was her."
People ask her if she receives psychological counseling to help her deal with the traumatic events of her life. The answer is no.
"There's a time for crying and a time for going on. I've took out my crying time, and I'm going on."
Another reason she doesn't need counseling, she says, is because she has direction in life.
"I have my goals set. I plan on going to Virginia Western [Community College] and earning an associate business degree, and then take it from there."
That plan depends on Beard being able to bring up a low grade in her government class. Beard says she struggles with government, but she has her aunt's memory to encourage her.
"That was one thing she wanted, to see me graduate. I was hoping and praying God would give her time. But I know she'll be there in spirit, and that's all that counts."
Shanzida "Tina" Husain also feels separate from her peers, but for a different reason. She is a Muslim from Bangladesh.
Husain, 18, came to the United States in 1987. She first lived in Brooklyn, then moved to Roanoke when she was a high school freshman. Her father, Amzad Husain, owns the Ice Cream Churn, a convenience store in Southeast Roanoke.
The family moved to the United States "mainly for educational purposes," says Husain, who has two brothers, 22 and 14.
"When we came, there were strikes and political chaos back home. School would be closed for half of the year. You would spend two years just passing first grade."
Husain has had no trouble passing classes at Patrick Henry. She has taken Advanced Placement English throughout high school and has been accepted at the University of Virginia.
"I'm planning on pursuing a career in chemistry," she says. "My dad has diabetes. I would like to do research and find a cure. I've seen my dad suffer from that since I was 2 or 3 years old."
Her father moved the family away from Brooklyn because he was looking for a quieter place, Husain says. Although Husain enjoyed New York's diversity, she says she doesn't mind living in Roanoke.
"I cannot complain. I have never had to face discrimination. Everybody has been really nice to me."
However, she does have to deal with questions about her lifestyle and her Sunni Muslim faith, which is the more conservative branch of Islam.
"It is hard sometimes, because I'm very conservative in what I wear, and people here are very open and sometimes they ask me why don't I wear any shorts. I just say I don't like it. I don't want to go into depth as to why I don't wear it."
People also ask why she doesn't go on dates.
"We have arranged marriages," she says. "It would have to be from my nationality and religious faith." The prospects in Roanoke are severely limited since there are only three Bangladeshi Muslim families in town.
Although it's difficult at times, Husain remains loyal to her faith.
"Even though I'm here, I still practice my own customs and culture. It's just something you're raised with."
by CNB