Regional News

2B Telegraph, Times & Monitor B Section • Thursday, July 4, 2013
Sheffield proves her love of SFC programs
BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Regional News/Sports Editor
Many students who attend
the Santa Fe College Andrews
Center’s Jr. College for Kids and
College for Kids programs return
year after year. Teacher Lindsey
Sheffield couldn’t imagine not
doing the same thing herself.
Though Sheffield had a special
opportunity to be a referee in the
USA Volleyball nationals, she
decided that what she’d rather do
was to do what she does every
summer—teach multiple classes
in the Jr. College for Kids and
College for Kids programs.
“I’ve done it for so long,”
Sheffield said. “I’m committed
to the program.”
Andrews Center Director
Cheryl Canova said she would’ve
encouraged Sheffield to take
advantage of the volleyball
opportunity, but she also
appreciates Sheffield’s loyalty to
the College for Kids programs.
“She does a really good job,”
Canova said. “I totally appreciate
of dropout prevention and teen
parent programs.
“I actually rode the school bus
with her for a year and a half, two
years,” Thornton said, referring
to her daughter Heather. “That’s
when RJE had the teen parent
program. I graduated with my
class in 1993. I walked with my
class.
“Heather turned 2 in
September after I graduated.”
Thornton, who has two other
children who are 12 and 13
(Heather is now 22), went to
work after high school and has
worked for a variety of places.
She started out at Unicorn
Strings in Brooker, but also
worked with the Department
of Corrections and Mr. Auto
Insurance, as well as driving a
truck for a while.
When Thornton enrolled at
Santa Fe, she was working full
time for CVS in Lake Butler.
“I’ve pretty much been
in the workforce ever since
(high school). This is probably
the least I’ve worked ever,”
Thornton said, referring to her
present-day world.
Thornton was always looking
for the right time to go to college.
First, her two youngest children
needed to be old enough. Her
first priority was to take care of
them.
The right time was in the
spring of 2010.
“I figured if I didn’t do it
then, I’d probably never do it,”
Thornton said.
College has been intimidating
at times, like when she’s the
oldest student in a particular
class, Thornton said. However,
she said the adjustment to
returning to a classroom after
such a long absence wasn’t that
difficult.
“It really wasn’t bad,” she
said. “I always liked school, so
Sheffield said. “I prayed a lot
and cried a lot.”
Though it was certainly an
honor to be chosen as a nationalslevel
referee, Sheffield decided
she had to follow her heart.
Thornton fulfills desire, named to hall of fame
BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Regional News/Sports Editor
Going to college after
graduating from high school
was not a possibility for Patty
Thornton, who got an early start
in raising a family after giving
birth to a child at the age of 15.
She never lost the desire to
further her education, though,
and eventually enrolled at
Santa Fe College 17 years after
high school. Thornton has
not only proven herself in the
classroom, but was recognized
as an outstanding overall student
when she was inducted into the
college’s hall of fame.
Thornton, 38, admitted she
didn’t think she had a chance
of actually being selected for
the hall of fame when she
was encouraged to fill out an
application by Santa Fe College
Andrews Center staff.
Andrews Center Director
Cheryl Canova said Thornton
has those qualities hall of fame
students should have, such as
good grades and community
service.
“She definitely qualifies,”
Canova said.
The selection committee
obviously thought so, too.
Thornton, who will graduate
in December with an
associate’s degree in business
administration, was one of 15
students to be inducted this year.
Canova said one of the qualities
she admires in Thornton is the
fact she’s such a hard worker—
she’s a work-study student at
the Andrews Center—while still
maintaining a high grade-point
average.
Thornton also found time to
be the Andrews Center’s student
activities president and was a
key component of many of the
group’s projects, Canova said.
“She’s just a step above the
average student,” Canova said.
What Canova finds really
“amazing,” though, is the life
story of Thornton. Thornton
admitted she didn’t have an
“ideal” childhood, saying, “As a
matter of fact, I don’t remember
going to the same school for
a whole year until after my
daughter was born.”
Thornton did drop out of school
after becoming a mother, but
she returned, taking advantage
her dedication.”
Sheffield, who is a 2000
Bradford High School graduate,
is in her third year of working
volleyball matches as a referee.
She works high school, college
and USA Volleyball matches.
She said someone in her position
is still considered a rookie if
they’ve been a referee for three
years or less. Still, Sheffield
got the opportunity to work as
a Big South National Qualifier
referee in Atlanta earlier this
year, though referees at that level
typically have more than five
years’ experience, she said.
Just as teams that survived
the Big South qualifier earned
the right to move on to
nationals, Sheffield, too, had
the opportunity to move on
and referee at the nationals. A
conflicting tournament pushed
the nationals schedule back a
week, which meant Sheffield
would have to miss teaching in
the Andrews Center programs.
“I would be lying if I said
it wasn’t a hard decision,”
Andrews Center
student Patty
Thornton
was recently
selected for
the Santa Fe
College hall
of fame. She
began college
17 years after
completing high
school.
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Lindsey Sheffield (background) is pictured having fun
with a swimming pool of bubbles with Jr. College for
Kids students (l-r) Abigail Corbet, Hagen Kadlec and
Harley Swilley.
that made it easier.”
Canova said Thornton is a
good example to others in the
community.
“To me, it’s an inspirational
story to other people who are
like, ‘I’m working. I have a
family. I can’t go back to school.’
Well, yeah, you can,” Canova
said. “You can do it.”
Thornton has not only done it,
but has earned another measure
of success by being selected
for the school’s hall of fame,
proving that no hurdle is too
big to clear if you have a goal in
mind.
“Even if you’ve had a bad
start in life, you can always
make it better,” Canova said. “If
you can dream it, you can do it.
If you put your mind to it, you
can do it.”
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