Jean Allen Jenkins poses for a homecoming queen candidate photo in 1966.
Jean Allen Jenkins resolved when her daughter was young to encourage her to make her own decisions in life.
"Of course, it's always been my wish that my daughter would follow in
my footsteps to Ohio University, but that was never a requirement. I never
pressured her," says the 52-year-old Cleveland college counselor.
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Jean Allen Jenkins poses for a homecoming queen candidate photo in 1966. |
In the depths of her dreams as a proud parent, Jean always imagined her daughter, Jeana "Charee" Allen, graduating from high school and driving down Interstate 77 to Ohio University, her Ford Escort stuffed with clothes, boxes and bedsheets. She envisioned Charee coasting across the Richland Avenue bridge, the scenic Hocking River trickling beneath, into the rolling Athens landscape that cradles Jeanís glory days.
The first nudge came as soon as Charee was old enough to understand the concept of higher education.
"She always told me her college stories," says Charee, 25. "I got this
sense of Ohio University even before I visited campus. It is this really
special place in my mom's heart."
Lyntha Eiler
Her daughter, Charee Allen, in a similar pose in front of Chubb Hall. |
"It was a great time for me," says Jean, who graduated in 1968. "I was among a small group of black students at a time when universities were starting to pay attention to recruiting minorities. We were so close. I can still see the faces and names of the people who were in our group of friends."
Jean's stories fueled Charee's imagination at a young age. These inspiring visions of young adulthood being "the best years of your life" followed her to high school. That's when her mother gave her a second nudge. During a visit to Athens with her mom for an Ohio University alumni weekend, Charee saw what until then she'd experienced only through colorful words, old photos and sentimental smiles.
"I saw my mom with her friends talking about the good times they had, and it was so much fun," Charee remembers. "And I loved the whole atmosphere; the campus is so pretty and peaceful."
Jean knew it was only a matter of time before the nudges would gnaw on her daughter's conscience, even when Charee wanted to check out other colleges.
A third nudge became unnecessary when Charee discovered that Ohio University was one of only a few institutions in the state offering a degree in therapeutic recreation. That was exciting news for a former camp counselor planning a career working with the developmentally disabled.
"It just all clicked," Charee says. "I spent a weekend on campus with a friend, and I said, 'I gotta go here.' It's like I was born to be a Delta and graduate from Ohio University."
Charee earned an undergraduate degree in therapeutic recreation in 1996 and a master's degree in recreation management in 1998. She now is the coordinator of a residential group home in Cleveland.
Today, Charee and her mother delight in walking down memory lane, giggling about how their college experiences, although 30 years apart, are so eerily similar - activities at Baker Center, the annual sorority Gold and White Ball, familiar hamburger joints, even the race for homecoming queen. Jean competed in 1966 and won runner-up; Charee ran in 1994 and nabbed the title.
Needless to say, mom's proud.
"It keeps a grin on my face because it's so special," Jean says. "You want to be friends with your children. I think that as adults, we have common interests because she went to Ohio University. Itís brought us closer."
Already, Charee is thinking about how sheíll introduce her future children to Ohio University.
"I would love to carry on the tradition, but I want my children to make their own decisions."
Perhaps she'll just give them a few nudges.