Alberta Raynor shouldn’t be here.
Not after spending much of her childhood in hospitals confronting lupus and fighting for her life. Not after dropping out of high school because of the crippling nature of the disease. Not after struggling for so long to pass the GED test and earn a high school diploma.
And she definitely shouldn’t be here, ready to graduate from SUNY Jamestown Community College, after enduring the persistent tests of being a single mother. Raynor was ready to give up last semester when she came down with pneumonia and was on the verge of failing three classes.
“I felt like I failed and I didn't deserve to be here anymore,” she said. “Because I couldn't even keep up on schoolwork while being overwhelmed by everyday functions.”
Despite all of the hardships and obstacles, Raynor is set to walk across the stage for the first time in cap and gown. At 10 a.m. Saturday morning, she will claim her diploma from JCC during the Jamestown Campus commencement ceremony.
“I am a miracle,” she said.
Raynor is here in large part because her 14-year-old-son Wyatt, a middle schooler at Southwestern Central School, told her he wasn’t going to finish school or go to college because she hadn’t.
“That was one of the biggest pushes to go back to school, especially during the pandemic,” she said. “That's when I got my GED. I started it when he was born, and I passed everything but math... So, it kept me from getting my GED for 10 years. But I did it during the pandemic.”
Earning the GED was the first step. College was the second.
She was nervous to get started at JCC. Isolated from the outside world so much growing up, she worried about coming to class and how she would fit in with students 10 and 20 years younger.
“I don't really talk to people. I stay to myself,” she said. “But this is all about going outside of my comfort zone. And it has been the best experience of my life, and I feel extremely blessed to have had it.”
Raynor has been tested plenty, her progress well deserved. While taking classes at JCC, she lost her job and income around last Christmas and the time of her son’s birthday. Raynor credits the college’s Single Parents Reaching Education to Employment program for lending a hand.
“I didn't know how I was going to get him a birthday cake, let alone do a birthday and Christmas at the same time,” Raynor said. “The SPREE program actually bought me a cake, and we sat at home and made it together.”
Wende Lescynski, JCC’s director of Adult Learning Initiatives, checks in frequently with Raynor by phone to talk and ask if she’s keeping up with schoolwork. Raynor also receives pick-me-ups from fellow single mother and SPREE student worker Jerica Barnard.
Lescynski said Raynor, who provides hospice care to patients on the weekends, often thinks about how she can help others – much the same way so many have supported her.
“Alberta is a very kind, gentle human who has persevered since she began here,” Lescynski said. “She was a quiet person who rarely came onto campus. Now, she is thriving and looking forward to continuing her education and obtaining her master's degree.”
Renee Funke, a Teacher Education professor and co-advisor for JCC’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society, has also witnessed Raynor’s growth. Funke said Raynor was a hard worker who faced obstacles and lacked confidence at first.
“A few times, when we met, she commented that she didn't think she would be able to finish her courses due to her circumstances,” Funke said. “I encouraged her to stick with it because her work was so good and well-thought out.”
Raynor, who is set to earn a Social Sciences: Psychology degree, was later invited to join Phi Theta Kappa and Funke nominated her for PTK’s Golden Opportunity Scholarship, which covered most of the cost of joining.
“She joined and we were looking for a vice president for the Alpha Kappa Beta chapter of PTK,” Funke said. “I mentioned it to her, and she jumped at the opportunity.”
Raynor also mentioned Brian Barone, Criminal Justice assistant professor; Frank Corapi, Psychology professor; and Tammy Smith, Success Center counselor and associate professor, as important JCC mentors.
“I don't look at them as professors,” she said. “I look at them as family now, a big extended family.”
Yet, Raynor nearly dropped out last fall after an illness decimated her. She remembered saying a prayer when she got behind in her classes and intended to withdraw. She asked for help to make the right decision for her future.
“I said, ‘If I'm meant to be here and this is what I'm supposed to be doing, I need help catching up.’ Those were my exact words,” Raynor said. “And I finished my prayer and said in Jesus name Amen.”
Moments later, her phone rang. It was a JCC Success Center staff member offering Raynor help with her assignments.
“And right there,” she said, “I knew that I was meant to be here and to graduate and walk across that stage.”
Raynor assures that JCC is only the start of her college journey. The next stop is SUNY Brockport, where she has been accepted into the online psychology program. Her aim is to one day earn a doctorate and help those who have suffered trauma.
“Sometimes victims are overlooked in ways that we don't think about,” she said. “Experience has taught me that there needs to be more help in that area. Trauma is a big thing in our community. I don't think there's enough help.”
If nothing else, Raynor has learned that life isn’t easy, “and everything that I have been given is a blessing.”
“Sometimes being a single parent, you don't think you deserve these chances that we've not been able to have for one reason or another. You deserve that support. You deserve the encouragement, and you are worth every single thought of being successful in every manner of your life.”