Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 31, 1990 TAG: 9006010339
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TAMMY POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's a big difference from when Martha Murray, a guidance counselor, started at the school in 1974. Then, Murray said, about 37 percent of the students went to college.
The Botetourt graduates have been accepted at institutions such as James Madison University, the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, Bob Jones University, Liberty University, Bridgewater, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, Lenoir-Rhyne College and Virginia Military Institute.
Murray also said a number of the graduates are going into the military.
Senior Jim Omer will attend James Madison University in Harrisonburg, where he plans to major in political science or economics.
"I'm interested in lobbying, so I may live in Washington," he said.
Omer said he chose JMU because he has a brother there and he has met several people during his visits to the school.
He had thought about going to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa because of its political science program, but decided to stay closer to home.
"It's a 12- or 13-hour drive, and I don't know anyone there. I think it's good to know somebody."
Omer said he'd like to eventually settle in the Roanoke Valley/Botetourt County area to rear a family, but he wants to travel after college. "I want to experience everything."
Classmate Jeff Baker said his acceptance in the University of Virginia's Echols Scholarship Program means, "I get to choose my own curriculum, and don't have to declare a major. . . It's the highest award a freshman can receive."
Since he doesn't have to declare a major, Baker has not committed himself to a particular career, but he may choose medicine.
He also isn't sure where he'll live after leaving college. "Right now, I don't feel that I will come back. I've lived here all my life, and I'd like to experience something else. I wouldn't mind trying a bigger city."
Janet Jones, who plans to major in education and minor in music at Liberty University, said she plans to return to the area. "I may be able to do my student teaching at Lord Botetourt. I'm interested in being a secondary school teacher, probably in Spanish."
Jones said she lives in a good neighborhood now and really likes the area. "I think there's plenty of jobs and things to do here. The area seems to be growing."
Devrah Sprinkle said she wants to move out of Botetourt County, but at 17 her parents think she's too young. "They want me to wait a couple of years before leaving home," said Sprinkle, an only child.
She will spend her first two years of college at Virginia Western Community College and then transfer to Virginia Tech to major in education or business.
She said she would like to move to Florida "because it's warm, and I'm a real summer person."
Sprinkle said she may change her mind about leaving Botetourt County when she's older. "I've been here all my life, and I may end up coming back. It's a nice county, but I want to get out a little bit. I haven't been out of the state too much."
Omer said most of his classmates tell him that they will stay in the area or within a two- or three-hour drive.
Several, however, said they want to live in larger cities because there are more jobs and more activities.
In Botetourt County, "your friends and parties are the main thing," Omer said.
Sprinkle agreed, saying, "there's not much of a night life or hot spots for kids to go."
Jones said many of her friends want to leave because "they're tired of the area, and don't feel there's anything to do."
Although many of his friends say they are leaving Botetourt, Baker said he doubts that many of them will. "It's easier said than done. Besides, life here is good, there isn't a lot of pressure to deal with. At Lord Botetourt, we don't have a big problem with drugs, weapons or people belonging to gangs. We almost lead a sheltered life."
by CNB