Student focus: juggling motherhood, job and classes at John Tyler

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Molly Toncray (Photo by Johnny Youssef)

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By Johnny Youssef
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Published: October 10, 2008

Being a mother is already a full-time job. But one student at John Tyler Community College is also juggling a part-time job and a full-class load at the same time.

Molly Toncray works hard to earn the good grades that make her an honors student. But she acknowledged that the main reason she is doing well in school while working and being a mother is the help she receives from the college’s faculty and staff.

“I barely graduated from high school,” said Toncray. “I was a terrible student.”

She said that there are many reasons why John Tyler helped her become a successful student. One of them is that the college focuses especially on students who have struggled with their grades in the past.

“It eases you, and teachers are so nice,” she said. “If I would have gone to a public university like VCU right after high school, I wouldn’t have made it.”

The small setting and close relationships between professors and students have helped Toncray.

“I think of my teachers as friends rather than teachers. I have a teacher here that knows everything about me,” she said.

John Tyler also gives its students the freedom to explore different courses to discover their passions and goals.

“John Tyler lets you figure out what you want to do,” Toncray said. “I never made good grades in high school, but here I’m on the honors list.”

“Teachers here are very teaching oriented,” said Toncray’s English professor Marty Brooks, who added that Toncray is one of her favorite students because of her enthusiasm and commitment.

A unique quality of John Tyler is that it has students of different ages. One of Toncray’s good friends is Glenton Robinson, a part-time student and an administrative assistant for advance placement testing at John Tyler.

“I was injured in the job in 2003, so I thought it was good time to go back to school,” Robinson said. “I love this part of my life. When I see people my age taking advance placement tests, it’s so nice to encourage them and tell them, ‘if I can do it, you can do it’.”

When asked what she likes about John Tyler, Robinson said, “Oh God! The people! The staff! The faculty! The students!” She then points at Toncray and said “My best friend is right there.”

Toncray and Robinson agree that age difference doesn’t divide people at Tyler, but brings them closer together.

Toncray has been taking classes at John Tyler for three years now, and she recently decided to change her major and pursue a career as a dental hygienist crediting the college helping her to discover what she really wants to do. She developed a passion for science and biology through her work-study position at the college’s biology department.

It will only take Toncray an extra semester to graduate before applying to the Medical College of Virginia.

“I was on the dean’s list all semesters, but one,” she said. ”I have a six-year-old, I work 20 hours a week, and take 14 credits, and I am a good student,” Toncray said.

What else can you ask for?