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Robert Whitley |
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Robert Whitley |
Robert Whitley has faced more than his share of challenges. Despite battling cancer, losing his job, and being forced to go on dialysis treatments, he has not only persevered, but has excelled.
At age 44, the Lenoir-Rhyne College graduate is headed to graduate school and hopes eventually to earn a Ph.D. in history with the goal of becoming a college professor. He recently received word that he was selected as a Scholar in the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Program. He is one of 77 recipients chosen after a nationwide selection process that drew 1,100 nominees. The graduate scholarships cover tuition, room, board, fees and books for up to six years. They and are among the most generous academic awards offered in the United States.
Whitley’s college career began after he became disabled. In October of 1994, his kidneys failed, and now he is dependent upon dialysis three times a week. As a result of his illness, he had to leave his job at a Caldwell County furniture factory. In December of 1994, he was additionally diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had spread to his lymph nodes. He had surgery and chemotherapy to treat that disease.
However, the Lenoir resident wasn’t ready to give up. As soon as his health allowed, he became a volunteer tutor at his children’s school in Caldwell County. He liked working with the students so much that he decided to become a history teacher. He enrolled at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, where he served as a tutor to other students. After earning an associate’s degree there, he transferred to Lenoir-Rhyne College. In 2005, he graduated magna cum laude from Lenoir-Rhyne, earning general honors and honors in history.
Whitley did his student teaching at South Caldwell High School, but was not able to continue teaching there because of his dialysis schedule. However, he is employed in CCC&TI’s TRIO Program, tutoring and mentoring first-generation and low-income college students. He is enrolled this fall in a master’s degree program offered by Appalachian State University at the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation also assisted with his undergraduate expenses. During his first year at Lenoir-Rhyne, Dr. Carolyn Huff, a history professor, suggested that he apply for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program. Each year, this program awards approximately 35 scholarships to students who are transferring from a two-year college to a four-year college. It is the largest scholarship offered to community college transfer students in the United States.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation was established in 2000. Cooke was born in Canada in 1912. During the Great Depression, he was forced to drop out of high school and go to work. Cooke worked three years as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, then moved on to manage a radio station in Ontario. His first job in communications put him in contact with the media executive Roy Thomson, with whom he later partnered to operate radio stations and newspapers throughout Canada. It was there that Cooke earned his first fortune. In 1960, he became a U.S. citizen. One piece of advice that he gave others was, "Destiny demands you do better than your supposed best."
The foundation he established through his will helps others to fulfill their destiny. It identifies and supports students who have financial need and who have demonstrated excellence in academic endeavors and extracurricular activities. Whitley received one of the first scholarships given by the foundation.
“The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a wonderful foundation,” Whitley said. “They don’t just look at someone and say he’s too old, or he’s too young; they see potential.”
He has high praise for his professors at Lenoir-Rhyne, who were understanding and worked to accommodate his medical schedule. He said his wife, Joyce, has been extremely supportive and encouraged him to pursue his education dreams. She also returned to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in special education. She now teaches at West Caldwell High School. Their older son, Jeremy, recently graduated with a degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Their younger son, Timothy, is now a student at CCC&TI. “Learning is something we really love to do,” Whitley said.
He also thanked the Central Advent Church of Lenoir. “It’s a very understanding church,” he said. “They supported me a lot when I got sick, and I wasn’t even a member then.” He has since joined the church and served as a teen youth leader and Sunday school teacher.
Whitley said he is now trying to get on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. For many years, he wasn’t eligible to receive a transplant because of his history of cancer. However, he has now been cancer free for 10 years. He has been told that if he gets on the transplant list, he will most likely have to wait three years for a kidney.
“I’ve been through a lot,” he said, “but I’m still here, so there must be a reason. There must be something else for me to do.”