Behind a desk at a local State Farm agency sits Crystal Whited, a polished young professional on the road to a successful future. However, Whited’s road has not been an easy one. In 2001, at the age of 21, her marriage dissolved and she found herself a single mother of her three-week old daughter, Cheyanne. Working a part-time job, she found that it was still difficult to support her daughter on her own. “I figured I had two options: I could work two part-time jobs or I could go back to school to find a career.”
In January 2002, she enrolled in classes at Southwest Virginia Community College. “I had been planning to go to college all along,” said Whited.
It wasn’t easy for her. In addition to school, she worked part-time at a local restaurant, the Old Mill, and cared for her infant daughter. “It was frustrating. The baby stayed sick a lot. I was sleep-deprived. All I did was work, go to school, take care of my baby, and study. While in college I went through various emotions from: this is doing me no good to this is the only thing that will save me.”
She sacrificed a lot for a better future for her and her daughter. “For years I didn’t go out to eat. I never had any extra money. It was hard to have friends. After work everyone else would go out to party. I went to pick up my daughter from the babysitter’s.”
Whited refused to quit. “Something just lit a fire in me. I thought, ‘I can quit and get another part-time job.’ That would be a quick fix, but getting an education is going to be better in the long run.”
It helped to be surrounded by people that were cheering her on. “I felt the faculty and staff at SwVCC really wanted to see me succeed. I could talk to them when I got discouraged.” She also had the people from her workplace supporting her. “Bill Bowling, the owner of the Old Mill, worked with me to help me get my degree. If it hadn’t been for the people at the Old Mill I wouldn’t have been able to get through.”
“I think Southwest saved me. I was going through such a difficult period in my life. If I had not believed that I was making a better future for myself, I don’t think I could have made it. The environment on campus at Southwest was fun and refreshing. I looked forward to attending classes every week.”
She graduated from Southwest in 2004 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in administration of justice while maintaining a 3.8 grade point average. She then began contemplating transferring to a four-year college or university to earn her bachelor’s degree.
Whited enrolled in an adult education program through a local four-year college that offered classes in Criminal Justice at night on the campus of SwVCC and through the internet. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2005, earning honors.
She just hopes her daughter is proud of her. “I’ve done all of this for her, so she could have a better life.” She also hopes that her daughter will see the importance of an education. “I encourage every young woman to get an education--you never know when you’ll need to be able to support yourself. I try to mentor to other young women in similar situations.”