But Lane’s trying circumstances seemed to follow her. Her grandmother soon developed troubles of her own and couldn’t take care of Lane, so less than six months later, she returned East only to find that her younger nephew and niece had been placed in foster homes. “It was hard on everyone,” says Lane, who re-enrolled at Abington High. “I’m not going to lie; it sucked. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know if I was ever going to see them again.” She did, traveling with her father to Lancaster, where the kids were in foster care, for visits. The visits were emotionally draining; Lane credits Abington High Associate Principal Rodd McCuen and Guidance Counselor Tina Ferebee for recognizing the uniqueness of her circumstances and supporting her through a difficult time. She recalls McCuen asking Lane why she had missed school so much, and when she shared her story, his response was exactly what she needed to hear. “Just come to school,” he said. “I know you might not be here all the time, and you might not be here at the right time, but just come to school as much as you can and don’t worry about getting suspended.” Lane heeded the advice. She attended classes as much as she could, but when her older nephew and niece needed tending to, she was there. “She didn’t play a victim role. She knew what she needed to do to make things better,” says Ferebee. “She was able to realize that some things were out of her hands.” Referring to the younger kids’ placement in foster care, Ferebee adds, “I know it was difficult for her to let go of some things, but in the bigger picture she knew the best way for her to help her family was to take care of herself.”
Monkeys Café, across from the SEPTA Torresdale station, and suggested she apply to the University. She was accepted and enrolled as a biology major in the fall of 2009. Working tables at Three Monkeys one day, Lane struck up a conversation with a customer, Jaye Grochowski, who works in Holy Family’s Alumni and Parents office. Their chat turned to their respective experiences at the University. “She’s talking to me and asking questions about myself,” Lane recalls, “and I’m saying, ‘Yeah, I’m working about three jobs right now. I’m just trying to pay for school. I’m really excited going to Holy Family.’" Grochowski encouraged Lane to apply for a scholarship that had been established in her name. So Lane applied for and received the Jaye Grochowski Scholarship, which recognizes academic merit and financial need as well as the traits for which Grochowski is known: loyalty, dedication, service, caring, and commitment to Judeo-Christian values. That assistance is what Lane spoke so passionately and movingly about last fall. It is a fitting reward for her perseverance. Today, Lane is an outstanding student Lane poses with a simian friend on Three Monkeys Café's patio.
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uly supported, Lane made it through high school and spent the next year waiting tables and working at an accounting firm. She wanted to go to college, but with no role models in her family and such paralyzing instability, the going was tough. Lane’s parents had split up, so she alternated staying with her boyfriend and her father. Her mom and dad had never obtained a birth certificate for her, so she couldn’t even obtain a Social Security card, let alone a driver’s license. “I gotta be honest,” she says. “I look back at that time and I don’t know what was happening. It was a sad time. I was very alone, very confused.” Lane’s boyfriend, a student at Holy Family, helped her land a job at Three
magazine @ holyfamily.edu
spring 2011
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