THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603270129
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER SUFFOLK
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
EIGHT YEARS AFTER receiving a GED and working at various jobs, Caroline Grams realized she needed to further her education.
Grams, 30, knew that returning to school would take dedication, careful planning and some financial assistance. She and her husband, Richard, a quartermaster first-class in the Navy, have four children ranging in age from 7 to 12.
``I didn't have good self-esteem and I didn't know how to communicate with people,'' Grams said. ``I knew that going back to school was the best thing for my family, because in bettering myself, I bettered them.''
With the aid of a scholarship, Grams began her studies in 1991 and is now a candidate for graduation at the Portsmouth campus of Tidewater Community College in May.
A student of nursing and a native of Ketchikan, Alaska, Grams is believed to be the first American Indian ever to win a scholarship at the Portsmouth campus of TCC. Provided by the Ketchikan Indian Corporation, the scholarship provides her with $450 a month as long as she keeps her grades up. To qualify, a student must attend classes full-time and maintain at least a 2.5 grade-point average.
Grams' mother, a Haida/Tsimpsian Indian, and her father, a native Virginian, met while he was working on the Alaska Marine Highway.
Grams lived with her parents and brother in Ketchikan until she was 12 and remembers her hometown as being mountainous, with more rain than snow.
``I have gotten so tired of people asking me if I lived in an igloo,'' Grams said, laughing.
``Northern Exposure,'' the recent television series that depicted Alaskan life, reminded Grams of her childhood home, especially the scenes of the small grocery store and the pontoon plane that regularly landed in the area.
``There were totem poles,'' Grams said, ``and at one time, Ketchikan was known as the `fishing capital of the world.' ''
Proud of her heritage, Grams' personalized license plate reads ``AKINDN'' (Alaskan Indian). She cherishes an old photograph of her mother dressed in native attire, which included a carved wooden hat, greeting a tour ship years ago.
Grams is the great-granddaughter of Alaska's first native Christian priest from her tribe and granddaughter of the one of the state's premier carvers of Indian totem poles.
``My grandfather had a shop and as tourists walked by, they would buy the small totem poles,'' she said. ``He has done six-foot totem poles also.''
When Grams' father decided that his children should be exposed to a different culture, the family moved to New Orleans in 1977. However, the cultural differences were too drastic for her mother, Grams said. Her parents separated and her mother moved to Washington State.
Grams left home at 15 and attended four different high schools, two in Louisiana and two in Washington, before dropping out of school. She waited tables at her aunt's restaurant in Everett, Wash., and cleaned offices at night. Later, Grams returned to Louisiana, where she met her future husband. The couple moved to Norfolk when Richard Grams was transferred with the Navy.
Grams received her GED in 1983 and decided to take an entrance exam at Tidewater Community College in 1991.
``It was very obvious from the exam that I needed more education,'' she said. ``I took more than a year of reading and English classes at TCC in order to begin college. I scheduled classes when my children were in school.''
With a busy schedule, Grams depends upon her children's help at home in the Willoughby section of Norfolk.
``I don't try to be a Supermom,'' she said, ``but I was so independent as a kid and I try to keep my children as independent as possible. My husband, who is on shore duty, helps. We go for simple meals. If I'm going to have a big meal, I cook it ahead of time.''
Christopher, 12, cuts grass; 10-year-old Nicole cooks occasionally; and Ricky, 8, and Danielle, 7, do their homework while their mother studies.
In addition to attending classes and training at a local hospital, Grams is a member of the National League of Nursing and vice president of the Student Nursing Association, which involves meetings and paperwork for fund-raisers.
When Grams' husband retires from the Navy in 1997, the family plans to move to Alaska, where he has been offered a job as captain of an Alaskan tour boat.
``We want to move to Anchorage,'' Grams said. ``I want my children to learn about the culture there. Within 10 years, I would like to become a nurse practitioner.
``My oldest son is gifted in drawing, and I perceive him as being a good carver,'' she said, smiling. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
With the aid of a scholarship, Caroline Grams began her studies in
1991.
by CNB