At 63 years old and after years of hard work, Cherie Carr had finally achieved her goal of earning a bachelor\u2019s degree. She couldn\u2019t wait to walk the stage at graduation.<\/p>\n
Then, everything changed.<\/p>\n
In the hospital three weeks ago for splitting headaches, shortness of breath and stomach pain, Carr got news no one wants to hear: Stage 4 cancer.<\/p>\n
With cancer in her lungs, brain, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and colon, Carr has had to switch gears from being a summer intern with hopes to work in television production to focus all her energy on her health. Her sister, Vicki Snell, without hesitation uprooted her life in Kentucky to take care of Carr full time in Orlando: driving, cooking, cleaning and always being just one step behind to make sure Carr doesn\u2019t fall. Walking at graduation seemed to be in jeopardy.<\/p>\n
Yet, on Aug. 5, Carr donned her cap and gown and walked the stage at graduation \u2013 independently and with an expression of triumph on her face \u2013 to celebrate her hard-earned bachelor of arts degree in radio-television production. She hopes her determination can help inspire others to keep going.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo those students who want to quit, they need to remind themselves that if I can finish with six pieces of cancer in me, they can do it, too,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are Knights and we charge on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr, who\u2019s now in hospice care, is expected to live another three to six months. She\u2019s grateful she had the energy to make graduation \u201cher last finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her college journey began in 2010 out of a need to survive. In 2009 she had been laid off as a word processor for a law firm \u2013 a job she\u2019d had for 16 years \u2013 and began struggling financially. She knew if she went back to school, she could live off of student loans. She enrolled in Seminole State College and that\u2019s when an education became more than a means to survive \u2013 it became a passion and a goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne way or another she was going to get that degree,\u201d said Snell, who added that once Carr starts something, she gives it her all and wants to see it through.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had often wished that I started my life by going to college earlier,\u201d Carr said. \u201cBut if you really want to do something, or you don\u2019t like something and you want to change it, do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr\u2019s go-getter attitude helped her fit in with \u2013 and often outshine \u2013 the younger students who surrounded her throughout her college journey. After earning an Associate of Arts degree with a 4.0 GPA at Seminole State, she transferred to UCF to study what\u2019s always been her hobby: TV and movies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s energetic, fun and creative,\u201d Carr said of being behind the camera. \u201cThere are all kinds of areas to study and opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
For years Carr has put her studies to use at her church, First Baptist of Orlando, where in 2011 she became the church\u2019s first and only woman jib operator. A jib is a crane with a camera at the top and a counterweight and controls at the bottom that\u2019s used in cinematography. She also this summer interned at NBC Golf Channel in Orlando before her diagnosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is very dedicated and professional, and doesn\u2019t accept mediocrity,\u201d said Stephanie Rice, UCF associate instructor and radio-television program coordinator. \u201cShe\u2019s a bit of a perfectionist because she wants her work to be her best. In my classes she never tried to make a case for being older or different than the other students. She was just there to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Close in age, Rice and Carr formed a bond outside the classroom. It began with \u201ctough love,\u201d said Rice, who\u2019d critique Carr\u2019s work when she visited her office to get tips on how to improve. Then over lunches and dinners, the two formed a friendship. Rice, a breast cancer survivor, has in recent weeks provided pivotal empathy and support for Carr. She even picked up her cap and gown from campus while Carr was in the hospital.<\/p>\n
Rice also helped Carr get her summer internship at Golf Channel. Carr was worried her age would be a disadvantage when it came to landing internships, but Rice challenged that: \u201cYour age is an asset. You have work experience and you\u2019ve shown you don\u2019t mind working hard for a living,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Carr was part of the studio production crew at the Golf Channel. She\u2019d pull cables and help communicate directions from the control room to the studio floor, and eventually she operated the cameras.<\/p>\n
Carr was born in Jamestown, Tenn., and has lived in the Orlando area since she was a teenager. Her brother and two nieces also previously graduated from UCF.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At 63 years old and after years of hard work, Cherie Carr had finally achieved her goal of earning a bachelor\u2019s degree. She couldn\u2019t wait to walk the stage at graduation. Then, everything changed. In the hospital three weeks ago for splitting headaches, shortness of breath and stomach pain, Carr got news no one wants to hear: Stage 4 cancer.…","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":78309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[15992,6],"tags":[3393],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-78307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-community","tag-nicholson-school-of-communication-and-media"],"yoast_head":"\n