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Impressive academic pedigrees abound at the University. Vitae list Harvard
and Yale; office walls boast Carolina and Duke diplomas.
But none mean any more than Annette Cheek's.
The University mail clerk received her adult high school diploma last
month -- more than 30 years later than originally planned.
"It felt really good, because I'd gotten something I'd wanted for a long
time," she said.
Cheek, now 50, dropped out of Siler City's Chatham High School in 1964
after becoming pregnant with her first child. Three more kids arrived in
subsequent years, and with the four children plus a husband to care for,
getting a high school diploma became a dream deferred. Until now.
"[The children are] all grown up," Cheek said. "That's why I could go back
to school."
A twist of fate -- and making the best of a bad situation -- spurred
Cheek's journey back to the classroom. She was working in a Siler City
furniture plant when it shut down in 1995. Under the terms of the closing,
laid-off employees were given the option to pursue training and education
programs. Cheek accepted the offer.
She started a General Educational Development (GED) program by taking
night classes at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro. Then, in
1996, she signed on with Carolina's Tar Heel Temps and landed an assignment
sorting mail in the main campus mail center in Hamilton Hall.
Cheek continued taking GED classes at the community college. When the Tar
Heel Temps job led to her current permanent position in the MacNider Building
Health Affairs mail center, Cheek first kept working on her GED in Carolina's
Work Based Learning Program housed at Odum Village and taught through Durham
Technical Community College.
But in July 1998 Cheek switched to an adult high school diploma program
offered by Central Carolina Community College because an actual diploma carries
more weight than the GED, considered only the equivalency of a diploma. While
getting a GED depends merely on passing a series of tests, the adult high
school diploma program requires more rigorous study -- 75 hours per
subject.
Cheek said math placed at the bottom of her favorite-subjects list -- "too
many numbers" -- while science came out on top because of its hands-on
approach. She particularly enjoyed learning new things about the Earth, such as
the fact that tiny marine animals make up coral reefs.
"That was really exciting and interesting to me," she said.
She also praised her Central Carolina Community College instructor, Johnny
Shaw, for working with her patiently and letting her complete assignments using
the college's computers.
"I really want to thank him," she said.
The program met in the evenings, which meant Cheek went to class as many
as four nights a week after putting in a full day at Carolina and driving the
50-minute commute to her Siler City home.
She wouldn't get home from class until around 9:15 p.m., and the day
didn't end then -- she often stayed up as late as 11 p.m. hitting the books.
That schedule was maintained by a woman who must report to her Carolina job by
7:30 a.m., getting up at 5:30 a.m. to make it to work on time.
And Cheek found little respite on the weekends.
"We'd go out of town, and I'd take my books," she said.
Why all the dedication? Because Cheek doesn't want to be in the mail room
forever.
"It was trying and stressful," she said. "Sometimes I just felt like
quitting.
"But I want to advance working here, and most of the job positions require
a high school diploma or its equivalent. Now I can apply for the jobs I'm
interested in."
Cheek said she hopes to get an office position on campus. And while her
high school diploma provides the piece of paper she needs, she also has the
practical skills she needs to take a step up on campus thanks to Carolina's
Training and Development program. Her Training and Development transcript
includes classes in telephone etiquette and basic keyboarding.
"They (the University) give me opportunities to obtain the skills I need
to get a better position, and I'm really grateful that they let me use these
programs," she said.
Cheek's supervisors accommodated her Training and Development class
schedule, and her co-workers took up the slack in the mail center when she was
away attending classes.
"I just want to thank them for being supportive and allowing me to pursue
these opportunities," Cheek said.
But Cheek's not the only one who's thankful.
"I am just grateful to have the staff and the resources that enable any of
my employees to avail themselves of training opportunities," said Tommy
Brickhouse, who oversees campus mail.
As he sees it, Cheek's commitment to moving up at the University is good
for everyone, himself included.
"I feel it's a supervisor's obligation to encourage employees to better
themselves," Brickhouse said. "It makes them a more productive employee and a
better person.
"Personally, what better feeling can you get than to be able to help
someone help themselves. It's part of being a productive member of the human
race."
Perhaps Cheek's biggest backer in her quest for a high school diploma was
her husband Rudolph, an independent logger. And that was despite the fact that
her time with the books meant more work for him.
"He was real supportive of me doing this -- a lot of times he had to cook
for himself," Cheek said.
But while he may have spent more time in the kitchen, Rudolph spent less
time with his wife. And that was tough for a man used to shopping with Annette
and taking family outings.
"When you saw one of us, you saw the other," Cheek said. "Then we had to
be separate. That took a lot out of him."
Rudolph's patience and Annette's perseverance paid off Feb. 18. That's
when Annette received her diploma during graduation ceremonies at the Sanford
Civic Center in Lee County. Her family, including five grandchildren, cheered
her on.
"They were real proud of me," Cheek said.
And Cheek didn't just graduate. She graduated with honors, averaging more
than 93 points on her course work. Cheek's children showed their pride in her
accomplishment by buying their mother a class ring inscribed with "Chatham High
School" -- the school that would have been her alma mater had she not dropped
out all those years ago to care for her first child.
"It was just a joy," Cheek said of getting the ring, presented to her on
graduation day by a 5-year-old grandson, Jonathan Nettles. "And it really was a
surprise -- I'd planned to get it myself."
In fact, Cheek unknowingly custom-ordered her ring. She told her kids
about her plan to buy one, and one of her daughters later asked how she
intended to have it inscribed -- without revealing the children's
scheme.
Now things are back to normal around the Cheek household. And while
Rudolph no doubt feels his wife's journey was well worth it, Annette said he's
glad it's come to an end.
"I can cook him a meal, and we can go out to dinner and he can sit down
with me and have a decent conversation," she said.
And she's glad to reach the end of the journey, too.
"It wasn't easy, but I did it anyway. I toughed it out," Cheek
said.
Classes available
Carolina's Work Based Learning Program is available to employees who want
to complete the General Educational Development (GED) program.
Taught by instructors from Durham Technical Community College, classes
meet at Odum Village on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:15 to 9:45 a.m. and from
9:45 to 11:15 a.m. For more information, call Bill Burston at 2-0762 or
Training and Development at 2-2550. Training and Development also can answer
questions about job skill classes offered on campus.
Durham Technical Community College also runs an evening adult high school
diploma program at the Skill Development Center on Franklin Street. For more
information, call Sarah Cooley at 969-3032.
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