In life and death, father provided motivation for SPCC grad

Jamie Rollins was in his next-to-last semester working on his associate degree at South Piedmont Community College when his father – whom he described as “my biggest supporter when it came to returning to college to complete my degree” – became gravely ill. James Rollins spent a month and a half in Carolinas Medical Center-Union and the Jesse Helms Nursing Center before he died in September.

“I spent many days in his hospital room, reading textbooks and taking notes,” Rollins said. “That was at his urging. If I ever showed up without a book, he would ask me why I didn’t have my school work with me.”

Rollins graduated with his associate degree in Computer Information Technology on Friday night. He was one of around 200 of the 408 eligible degree, diploma and certificate recipients who walked across the stage Friday.

“I have my dad to thank for the drive and determination that helped me succeed at SPCC,” he added. “This frame of mind was why it was never good enough just to pass.”

Rollins said he tried to make straight A’s, but a B in a math class foiled him.

“It hurts when I think about my dad not being at graduation, but then I realized that he will be there,” Rollins said in the days before the ceremony. “He will have the best seat in the house.”

Ironically, after spending so much time at the hospital late last summer, Rollins has already landed a job at that very same facility. He began working there as an intermediate computer technician four months ago. “I got lucky,” he said.

Rollins actually first sought a degree at SPCC in 2000. Before he could finish, however, he wound up getting a job in the industry, working for SBS Technologies. There, he found himself traveling a lot. “I was all over the place,” he said. “Winston-Salem, Boston, Nashville.”

It soon became too much to attempt work and school at the same time. “I dropped my classes,” he said. “I figured I would always go back. I messed up. I never went back.”

Never, that is, until August 2010. That’s when he found himself back at SPCC. By that time, he had taken a job with McGee Corporation in Matthews and had worked there for seven years. When the economy turned sour, however, McGee “had to consolidate, eliminate my position,” he said.

He figured with his years of experience, he would not have a problem finding a job. “It seemed like everywhere I went, I had to have a degree,” he said.

Now, he has one.

Rollins re-entered school with the help of federal Workforce Investment Act, or WIA, funds. “Our money was very tight,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t have been able to go back.”

Rollins dove right in as a full-time student. “I went full-time every semester, summers, until I got done,” he said.

He took many of his classes online. By his count, he took only five seated classes. Even after he got his job at the hospital, he continued as a full-time student so that he could finish. “I knew I would have to get something, because my unemployment was running out,” he said. “Once I got the job, WIA still took care of my tuition, books.”

Rollins had particular praise for instructors Oscar Gonzalez, Cheryl Hicks, Chris Johnson and Kim Bateman. “They’ve all been fantastic,” he said, noting that, because his classes were online, he never even met Bateman in person until just a few weeks ago.

A native and resident of Monroe, Rollins, 45, has an 18-year-old son, Kyle, who graduated from CATA last year. “I’ve been trying to set an example for him,” he said.

“You’re never too old, you’re never too busy to go get your degree,” he added. “My wife and son, they’ve been completely supportive. There’ve been a lot of times when I’ve come home from work or school, or they come home from work and it’s, ‘Dad, let’s go do this.’ I’d say, ‘I’ve got to go get on the books.’”

Rollins plans to enroll in two online classes through SPCC in the fall, so that he can start working on his bachelor’s degree online through East Carolina University.

He said he would “absolutely” recommend SPCC to his friends. “In fact, I already have,” he said. “I’ve got friends who’ve lost their jobs for one reason or another. I tell them, it’s the best place to go get your degree.

“The teachers, the staff, everyone has been great,” he added. “I wouldn’t have this job – and this is probably the best job I’ve ever had – I wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t for them.”

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Media inquiries: Rosemary Britt, 704-272-5342, rbritt@spcc.edu