THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606250130
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 58 lines
For some, the word ``obstacle'' translates into ``barrier,'' but not for Cindy Hall, a recent graduate of Gateway Christian School. For her, the word reads, ``hurdle.''
In fact, academic setbacks seem to just add fuel to inner fires of determination for the soft-spoken 17-year-old.
When the plucky young lady came up against numbers and equations that stumped her, she didn't knuckle under. In the first semester of her junior year, her math grade fell too low, so she had to give up her favorite extracurricular activity - cheerleading. She called on friends and turned to her teacher for help in bringing her grade up to par during the second semester. The following year, she became co-captain of the school's cheerleading squad.
Hall credits her religious faith for her firm belief that she can succeed. And she thanks her parents, who bore the financial burden of keeping her in the private school, sponsored by Gateway Freewill Baptist Church on Virginia Beach Boulevard near Newtown Road.
``In the Bible, it says I can do all things through Christ, so I had to rely on him,'' said Hall in a soft voice nearly drowned out by the cacophony of a bubbling fish tank and barking dogs in her Aragona home on Bottino Lane.
Tenacity is something she apparently also learned by example from her parents, Susan and Leonard Hall. The couple remarried after being divorced for several years.
``She's not your straight `A' student. . . . but she's the type of girl who gives you everything she's got,'' said Gateway Principal Timothy Jones. ``I'd like a whole classroom of students like her.''
While she finds math difficult, Hall excels in science. In fact, she took first place in her school's science fair with a chemistry project this spring. And she finds language easier to conquer than the advanced math course she had to pass in order to be eligible for college.
Tuition to Gateway Christian was a financial hurdle for the family of five, but Hall's parents supported her desire to stay in the small educational setting and remain with the devoted teachers.
So small is Gateway's student body that there were only seven members in this year's graduating class. But it is the individual attention she got in the school's small classes that fostered Hall's bent for teaching. This year, for example, she served as a teacher's aide.
Hall hopes to become a teacher. In fact, it is her dream to return to her alma mater and teach elementary students.
In the fall, she'll begin studies at Appalachian Bible College in Bradley, W.Va. Like Gateway, the college is small, with only 250 students.
Hall hasn't yet found a summer job, but is looking for one so she can save money for college, which she hopes to attend on a work-study grant. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
In the fall, Cindy Hall will begin studies at Appalachian Bible
College in Bradley, W.Va. A science enthusiast, she hopes to return
one day to her alma mater and teach elementary students. by CNB