'Making it to the finish line'

PETERSBURG — The last two years at Richard Bland College have not been easy for Terelle Robinson.

The 20-year-old’s sole guardian, grandmother Sarah Winston, died during his first month of college and left him homeless. During his last year at RBC, he had no family to go back home to, so he spent holiday breaks with teammates from the track team. Despite the obstacles, Robinson will be graduating Saturday with a 3.16 grade point average.

“I’m ecstatic, I’m thrilled. I feel like this graduation means way more to me than high school because of the bonds I’ve made with people and the adversity I’ve faced to get to graduation," Robinson said." Everything was in my way, but I hopped over it and made it to the finish line.”

His adversity began before he enrolled in RBC. Born in Richmond, Robinson said his both of his parents were drug addicts. He never met his father and there is no name on his birth certificate. His mother, Valerie Robinson, had a number of children whom she could not care for, so she took young Terelle to the home of an aunt. Robinson said his mother would leave him there for weeks on end. One day, she just never came back for him.

“She always said she’d come back and get me. What ended up happening was the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months," he said. "My mom hadn’t called and nobody could get in contact with her, so no one knew where she was or when she was coming to get me.”

Robinson said he never had a relationship with his mother. The last time he saw her he was 2 years old and said he does not know what she looks like. His aunt was unable to keep him in her care because of obligations she already had within her household. He was then taken in by Sarah Winston, his grandmother, when he was 2 years old. The two lived at her home in Ashland.

“It was a change. My grandmother told me the first day I stayed with her I woke up, walked in the kitchen and asked for popcorn and water for breakfast. That’s what I was used to for breakfast or anytime,” Robinson said. Luckily, she fixed him a proper breakfast, instead.

He lived with Winston until he left for Richard Bland in 2013. In her care, Robinson became involved in the church, sang in the choir and graduated from Patrick Henry High School. A month before leaving for college in 2013, Winston shattered her shoulder and broke her arm in two spots after falling from a chair. After being treated, it was discovered that her heart and lungs weren’t strong enough for surgery. She was then admitted into an assisted living facility. Robinson left for college that fall with reservations, but he knew he needed to to this for her. He’d be the first in his family to graduate college.

About one month into his freshman year, Robinson would have a dream about his grandmother around 6 a.m. on Sept. 5, 2013. He made it a point that day to call his grandmother after class. She was all he thought about that day, he said.

After class, he received text and calls, he was told by his aunt that his grandmother had passed around 6 a.m. from a heart attack in her sleep

“It just tore me up, I threw my phone. I walked from class to my dorm room sobbing,” Robinson said.

Despite the pain and heartache, he said he continued going to school after her funeral. He describes fall 2013 as his toughest semester, between the death of his grandmother and getting acclimated to his new environment, yet he finished with a 3.25 grade point average.

“I knew she wouldn’t want me out. That was my motivation and drive,” he said.

After his grandmother’s death, Robinson hopped between homes during breaks, staying with different aunts and friends. Sheri Mines, a family friend, said she spoke with Robinson twice a week to make sure he was still doing well in school.

“I would just ask about school and how his grades were,” she said. “I wanted to help to make sure he got to go school. I promised his grandmother I would look out for him.”

At RBC, Robinson has two work study jobs. He works as a police aid in the campus dorms and a supervisor at the Statesman Hall gym. He is also on the college’s track and field team, running the 800 meter, 400 meter and 200 meter races. He has the reputation around campus of having an optimistic attitude no matter the circumstance.

“I would have never guessed it, because he always walks around with a smile on his face regardless of what he’s going through," said fellow sophomore Kendall Crump. "He never really worries about anything. He took 24 credits this past semester and I would never see him worry, he’s just that type of person."

"He could be going the opposite path, but he turned his negatives into a positive and that rarely happens with situations like his. It’s a good thing to see,” she said.

Robinson has already been accepted to George Mason University, Old Dominion University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He has not settled on a definitive major yet, but he plans to major in either chemistry, business or criminal justice. He also said his ultimate goal is to go to the College of William and Mary, but is waiting on a letter from them. As for living arrangements, he is hoping to spend the summer in the campus dorms until he leaves for a four-year institution, but plans have not been finalized.

Despite humble upbringing and a death in the family, Robinson said he has the faith that his grandmother taught him as a child to see him through the tough times.

“I have to thank the man upstairs, God. I think that’s really made the difference with me being raised by my grandma, her having me in church and me having a strong faith. It’s really been my strong faith in God. I believe no matter how hard a circumstance is, I can get over it,” he said. “I’ve been faced with a lot and somehow I always come out on top or in a better situation.”

• Amir Vera may be reached at avera@progress-index.com or (804) 722-5155.