Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8-A
, After 25 Years Perry Woman Goes
Back To College And Gets Degree
By Joel Ferguson
News Editor
Rose Mae Smith
believes her three-year
quest for a college degree
is nothing more than "a
chance to live out a
dream.”
Others disagree. They
say what Mrs. Smith is
doing takes a lot of spunk
and true grit.
And they are probably
right. With the exception
of one quarter, Mrs.
Smith, who lives at 539
Ansley St., has com
muted back and forth to
Georgia Southwestern
College in Americus since
1976. She said she will
probably have to spend
one more quarter on
campus before she
graduates because of lab
work and other
requirements.
”1 don’t mind revealing
my age,” Mrs. Smith
said. “I’ll be 45 years old
when I receive my degree
next August.”
And when Mrs. Smith
receives the BA in
English, with a minor in
history, plus her prized
teacher’s certificate
-NOTICE
THE FINAL
DATE OF
PAYMENT FOR
1979
STATE AND
COUNTY TAXES
IS
THURSDAY
DEC. 20th
1979
A PENALTY
AND INTEREST
WILL
BE CHARGED
AFTER
THIS DATE
Joyce Griffin
Houston County
Tax Commissioner
she can look back on a
college career in which
she earned top grades
and high honors.
As a freshman, she was
tapped by Alpha Lambda
Delta National Honor
Society because of her
outstanding scholastic
achievement. In
November, she was
selected for membership
in the Georgia South
western College Order of
the Gown, an
organization established
to recognize scholastic
achievement and
academic excellence.
Through the summer
quarter of 1979, after 26
courses. Mrs. Smithu has
22 A’s, and four B’s,
which translates into a 3.8
grade point average.
Before embarking on
the full-time study at
Georgia Southwestern,
Mrs. Smith worked as a
teacher’s aide for the
Houston County school
system for eight years.
During this time, she
completed whatever
college courses that were
available in the county at
night.
While employed by the
school system, Mrs.
Smith served as a
teacher’s aid for one year
with the 7th grade at
Perry Annex,served as a
reading aide at Perry
High for two years,
served as a teacher’s aide
for the second grade at
Tucker Elementary for
one year, and worked as a
teacher’s aide for four
years with the Alter
native School at Pearl
Stephens in Warner
Robins.
"College had always
been a dream of mine,”
Mrs. Smith said. ”1
worked as an aide and
decided I wanted to
teach. I enjoyed teaching,
and I look forward to
getting back to teaching.
“But I didn’thave some
of the necessary tools to
answer some of the
questions students asked
me. So I decided to
acquire those tools.”
Mrs. Smith had been
out of high school 25 years
when she decided to go to
college. She graduated
from Murphy High School
in Mobile, Ala., where she
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1979
Perry’s Mrs. Rose Mae Smith
was born and raised, in
1951. She was a member
of the National Honor
Society in high school, but
failed to attend college
because of her marriage
to Richard I. Smith, and
her obligations as a
mother to their three sone
-- Inge, 23, Kevin, 22, and
Whitt, 15.
“Anybody going back
to college after all these
years should have their
family’s best wishes and
PHS Debate Team
Members Honored
The Perry High Debate
team has been par
ticipating in various
debate tournaments
throughout the state in
preparation for region
literary competition. At
the CESSA Speech and
Drama Festival at
Georgia Southwestern
College the team par
ticipated in the four man
varsity division. Denis
Gravel won a Superior
Debater’s award. At the
Parkview tournament the
team participated in the
four man open division.
The affirmative team of
Doug Graves and Denis
Gravel was given
honorable mention as one
of the top affirmative
teams in this division.
Finally at the Bremen
Debate Tournament
Denis Gravel won the
second place Speaker’s
Trophy for the four man
open division and Mark
Eckman was recognized
as eighth place speaker in
the negative division.
Members of this year’s
debate team are Doug
Graves and Denis Gravel
on the affirmative and
Joe Kanipe and Mark
Eckman on the negative.
Yule Party
Held Here
By Soro
The Sorosis Club met
Thursday for its annual
Christmas party at the
home of Dr. and Mrs. J.L.
Gallemore. Co-hostesses
with Mrs. Gallemore
were Mrs. M.M. Dean,
Mrs. Wyatt Kersey, and
Mrs. Horace Evans,
Receiving at the front
door were Mrs. Dean,
Mrs. Kersey, and Mrs.
Evans. Mrs. Gallemore,
dressed in a Christmas
red frock, welcomed her
guests and invited them
into the drawing room.
There gifts were placed
under the ceiling high
Christmas tree. Mrs.
Gallemore and Mrs.
Evans played Santa and
assisted in the exchange
of gifts.
Club members were
invited into the dining
room. Mrs. Dean poured
tea at the table, which
had as its centerpiece a
beautiful arrangement of
camellias.
Twenty-six guests
called during the af
ternoon.
cooperation,” Mrs. Smith
said. “My husband
washes clothes and
vacuums the floors while
I study,
“Richard has been my
biggest fan, and has
encouraged me to con
tinue my education,” she
added. “Richard and
Whitt have had to eat a lot
of TV dinners while I
was commuting.”
Mrs. Smith said her
oldest son, Inge, a
The topic for this year’s
debate is Resolved that
the U.S. should
significantly change its
foreign trade policy.
I ‘Z. w^m^^ tx,wnn ■
graduate of Valdosta
State, is now working in
Columbus. Kevin is a
senior at Valdosta State,
and will graduate next
spring. Whitt, the
youngest, is a sophomore
at Perry High.
“Her family is very
proud of her achieving a
top student role while
being able to fill her role
as wife and mother,”
Richard Smith said. ‘‘We
think her experience will
encourage others with the
same background to
return to college.”
The Smith family will
be on hand, of course,
when Mrs. Smithu
receives her degree next
summer. And come
September, they will
share the exhilaration of
a woman who walks into
a sunlit classroom -a
teacher at last -- ready to
labor in the vinyards of
young minds and hearts.
Locals On ABAC Dean’s List
A total of 217 students
have been named to the
fall quarter Dean’s List
at Abraham Baldwin
Agricultural College.
ABAC Registrar Paul
Gaines said that figure
accounts for nine percent
of the enrollment for the
term.
Students on the list
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DEC.
20th & 27th
1-4 PM
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ALL DAY
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Lake Joy Roller Rink
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Punch -1 9*7-2639
attained a minimum
grade point average of 3.3
on a 4.0 scale.
The fall quarter Dean’s
List students and their
fields of study includes
William H. Flournoy, Jr. -
Ag and Ind. Equipment
Tech, and Pamela S.
Hunt - Computer Science
Tech, both of Elko.
t