This Is Germanna
Some arrive knowing exactly where they’re going. Others are figuring it out. Some are starting. Some are starting over.
This Is Germanna. One story at a time.
Brandy Fallon · October 21, 2026
I came to Germanna when I was 18. My first year was kind of a disaster. I was one of those students everyone has. They make up excuses, they don’t come to class. I ended up on academic probation. I almost failed out, actually. Around that time, I also started collecting chronic illnesses like they were Pokémon. I got really sick and had to take some time off. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and had to have major surgery.
I re-enrolled and got serious after that. I decided I need to do the work. I want the degree. I want to keep going. I had a lot of supportive professors, some who are now my colleagues. I tried to do my best and ask for help when I needed it. I was in and out of the hospital a lot, so I took one or two classes at a time. It took me about eight years to get my associate degree.
When I was younger, I wanted to be a surgeon. But I wasn’t good at science or math. I looked at other ways I could still help people. When I graduated from Germanna, I went to the University of Mary Washington. After that, I went to grad school online. Now I have a master’s in counseling and human development. I’m finishing up my licensure hours. I’m almost there. I’m a part-time therapist and an adjunct professor. I’m teaching four classes at Germanna right now.
I never saw myself getting a master’s degree. A lot of people told me I wasn’t going to be able to make it, I wasn’t going to be able to continue with school, I wasn’t going to be able to have a career, I wasn’t going to be able to do much because I had to focus so much on my health. If you tell me I can’t do something, I’m going to prove you wrong. No one teaches you how to be young and sick. I had to prove it to myself that you can be sick and disabled and have a lot of things going on and still achieve your goals. It may not look the way you planned in your head, it may not be a neat path, but you can still reach them.
Society expects us to graduate high school, go to college, get married, have a family and a career, but for some people it doesn’t work that way. And that’s OK. We need to make room for non-traditional paths. Some people are sick. Some people graduate high school and go into the military or have a family or just work and then come back to college later. Not everyone is going to follow the same path.
Now, I get to not only help students who might not be taking the traditional path, but I also bring some of my expertise and experiences and work with them to get them what they need. I help them break down some of the barriers of what they should expect from themselves, especially if they are struggling with neurodivergence or chronic illness. I’ve had quite a few students where I think, you’re like me when I was 18. I’ve been there. I know how overwhelming this can be. Let’s figure out how to make this work for you.
—Brandy Fallon, Adjunct Professor
Derek Tobias · October 14, 2026
I’m from New Jersey. I was just coming out of prison and thinking about a new start. I knew people who lived in Virginia. My friend said, "Why don’t you come down here and try it? If you like it, you can stay. If you don’t like it, you can always go back." So I decided to give it a try. I had nothing to lose.
I had never been in Virginia. I was riding around in my friend’s car when I came across a Goodwill. I went inside, and they told me they were hiring. I said, "No, I’m not looking for a job. I want to be a counselor. I want to help people." A lady heard me and said, "Excuse me, are you serious about helping people? If you want to go to school and you keep your grades up, we’ll pay for it." So I went and found Germanna. I stepped into Germanna, and my whole life changed.
When you’re a kid growing up in the projects, everyone is trying to make a dollar the best way they can. You see guys running the streets with nice cars. You go in the house, and your mother makes you dinner and makes sure the kids eat, but there’s nothing for her. You wonder how you can help out, make money. But even being out in the streets, I always knew there was something different in me. I got my GED while I was incarcerated. Then I became a teacher’s aide and helped others get their GEDs. I couldn’t describe it, but it was always in me.
Coming from where I come from, it was frightful sitting in class for the first time. I’m the one who dropped out of high school. Not only that, I was much older than a lot of students. Once I dove in, you’d be surprised how many people really want to help. I practically lived at the tutoring center. When you come from the streets, people do something because they want something. You’ll see at Germanna that everybody really cares. They help you succeed. They want you to succeed. That’s why I’ll always give back what was freely given to me.
I got my professional counseling certification. Then I got my associate’s degree in psychology and my peer recovery specialist certification. Everybody came to Virginia to see me graduate. My mother came. That was one of the things that meant so much to me. Before she passed away, she got to see me do something different. She got to see me walk across that stage. I’m the youngest. I think she felt she could go on her way now because I was OK.
The Goodwill that sent me to Germanna assigned me a job as a group facilitator. I went around to high schools and spoke about the things we have to offer. Then I went to local prisons and spoke there as well. Now I’m working with people with disabilities, getting them job training. Everything has turned around. And it was walking into Germanna that gave me that.
It was God’s plan. I don’t know who believes in a higher power, but I have to say it because it was not my plan. All I asked for was not being on the streets, not doing the wrong thing. God has given me so much more.
The reward is more than monetary. It’s more than a dollar. A dollar couldn’t give me the feeling I get helping somebody, seeing somebody’s life change, see them go through what I went through and get through it. Don’t ever give up. The choices you made tell a story. That route you took or the route you might even be taking now leads to somewhere. Just don’t give up.
—Derek Tobias, Germanna graduate
Jessie Harper · October 7, 2026
I heard a radio commercial for Germanna when my son was about six months old. It said, “Be who you want to be.” At that time, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was a stay-at-home dad. I’d only had retail jobs or part-time jobs. I wanted to figure out how to make my son proud of me, to show him education is important. And it turns out it can change your life.
I was not a well-behaved kid. I was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. I have a learning disability. That has been a huge part of my life. I also wasn’t accepted for who I was. My mindset as a youth was, “If you don’t like me, I’m going to give you a reason not to.” I felt safe at Germanna to really be myself. I felt supported.
I’d gone to a four-year university in Kentucky right out of high school. Kentucky is where I’m from. I lasted two years. I always tell students that if I had gone to a community college first, I would have had an associate degree. I had nothing for my time except a lot of debt.
At Germanna, I decided to start fresh. I was an older student—32 or 33. I went part-time and worked for Anita Newhouse in Admissions as a work-study student. She is by far one of my favorite humans. I got really involved. I co-founded the Sexuality and Gender Alliance. Being a student makes you the most important person on campus. If there is something you need that can help better your experience or education, you should be able to advocate for it. I would always say, “One day, I want to work for Germanna. I want to be here.”
I graduated in 2020 and started working for the bookstore on campus. I worked there for not even a year when Anita texted me and said, “I have this position in Admissions. Would you like to join the team again?” I worked in the kiosk. We called it the fishbowl. There was plexiglass around it because of the pandemic, and we joked it looked like a fishbowl. I would say, “If you want to drop a treat down, go ahead.”
After that, I became an admissions coach—it’s called onboard specialist now. Around 2023, my supervisor at the time asked if recruitment was something I would be interested in. I said, “Absolutely!” I get to be on campus and talk to people about Germanna. I say I’m the best example of what a recruiter should be because I’ve lived it. I’m able to talk from my own perspective. I tell them this the experience you can have at Germanna if you want it.
When a student says they don’t think they can do it, I share my experience with them. I tell them, “Hey, I completely get it. I’ve been there. You can do it.” When it comes to belonging, I tell them that of all the places I’ve ever been—and I’ve gotten to go to quite a few—Germanna is by far the best institution I have ever seen.
I have a huge passion for our students because I know what they’ve been through. A lot of people at Germanna have that passion. It seems like we all come to Germanna having an adventure beforehand that led us here for a purpose. Everything about Germanna has changed my life. I’ve been able to live. I never in a million years thought I would love my job. I didn’t think that was a thing because my parents hated their jobs.
To be able to have a home, vehicles, the things that are necessities to live, and to be able to provide that for my son—I didn’t know I’d have that. My son is 9 now. He calls Germanna “Daddy’s College.”
—Jessie Harper, Germanna Recruiter
Jerry Perrin · September 30, 2026
I’ve been working at Germanna since 2024. I’m a janitor. I clean the bathrooms, take out the trash, and do whatever needs to be done to help keep things clean. I actually ended up getting my job here because of an internship. I graduated from James Monroe High School and went through Project SEARCH, which gave me the chance to do three rotations at Mary Washington Healthcare: supply chain, engineering, and Environmental Services, or EVS. EVS is basically anything to do with cleaning. That experience helped me get my job at Germanna.
I’ve made friends here, and I’m probably most known for recommending movies to people. I love movies. I’ve probably watched nearly a million of them. I like how movies tell stories and how you can relate to things that happen in them. I also really like cinematography. My favorite movie is probably Twilight or Step Up because I like dancing, too. I’ve wanted to be a filmmaker or actor for a long time. I also like to draw. I’ll draw animals, wolves, characters—pretty much anything. I’ve thought about having a career in art, maybe even making movie posters.
I also have autism. When I was around 8 or 9, I had a seizure and was diagnosed with autism. I don’t remember everything about that time, so a lot of what I know comes from what my mom has told me. I had to relearn a lot of things, including how to talk and read. I still have to take medicine to prevent seizures, and I carry a pouch with me that has my medical information and what I need in case of an emergency.
I had thought about going to Germanna when I was in high school. I would see people going to class and think, “I should go.” My sister goes here, too. Eventually, I realized it was worth doing. Nobody is just going to do it for me. So now I’m enrolled in my first college class: Two-Dimensional Design. I’m taking it online, but my work schedule ends around the same time the in-person class starts, so sometimes I go sit in the classroom anyway. I just want to learn more.
I’m excited to see where this takes me. Maybe I’ll go to a four-year college. Maybe I’ll study cinematography. I still want to be a filmmaker or actor. I don’t know exactly what the future looks like yet, but I’m hoping to keep moving forward.
My mom is one of my heroes. She’s a nurse, and she was really excited when I told her I got accepted at Germanna. She told everyone. They were all really happy for me.
If you have a disability and you’re thinking about college, my advice is: don’t think too hard about it. Go to a community college first and then maybe go to a four-year college. And channel your inner Jerry: Cool, charismatic, and awesome. Mostly, just be yourself.
—Jerry Perrin, Germanna Student
Charles Martin · September 23, 2026
I started studying voice when I was like 19 years old. That’s always been my passion. I grew up in Belleville, Michigan, and I’ve always been interested in music. I was in a very good high school choir, and when I was 17, I was performing opera.
When I was 19, I started studying voice with a great teacher in the Detroit area who had studied the Melocchi method. That’s where I really started learning the technique that I still use today.
Then life took me in other directions. I joined the Navy in 1987 and served as a hospital corpsman until 1991. I was stationed at Quantico, which is how I first got to know this area. After I got out, I traveled around for a while. In my 30s, I went back to Eastern Michigan University, where I studied music performance. But I never finished.
I ended up in Blacksburg and was there for about 30 years. Music was still part of my life, but I wasn’t doing enough. I kind of let things slip. I’ve always wanted to go back to school. That was always the goal. It just was never really the right time.
Then I came back to this area in February. I thought, well, maybe I need to start at the beginning and just do it. I need to get back and do what I should have done before. That’s why I applied to Germanna. Now I’m studying general studies with an emphasis in humanities and arts. I’m taking a full load because I want to get done in two years so I can transfer to the University of Mary Washington and get my music degree.
Coming back after all these years, the technology has been the hardest part. Back in my day, you typed your homework and printed it. Now I’ve got Canvas and online classes and all that. But I’ve also got to stay focused. I’ve learned that before. Opportunities can come along and pull you away from what you really came here to do. I don’t want to let that happen again.
Music is still my passion. I get on YouTube and listen to some of these great artists and sing along. I’ve got wood floors in my apartment, so it sounds like I’m in a concert hall. My neighbors don’t mind. They love it. That’s my workout. I do vocalization workouts.
I’ve got a friend who is a baritone, and we’ve talked about creating a home studio to teach the method I learned when I was 19. And I think that’s what I would tell anybody who didn’t finish school when they were younger: You’re not stuck where you’re at. There’s never a time when you can’t get ahead. No matter how old you are, if you’ve got the drive and the motivation to do it, you should be able to. I’m 65. I’ll be 66 in January. This is what I always wanted to do, and now I’m doing it.
—Charles Martin, Germanna Student
Leslie Conway · September 16, 2026
When I went to college, I had no idea what I was doing. My parents didn’t go to college. The goal for me was to complete high school. My guidance counselor, Mrs. “Eleanor” Thompson, who was African American, said to me, “You are going to go to Hampton University.” It was the only school I remember applying to. Even going through the process of financial aid and admissions, I didn’t know what to do, who to talk to. I was lost. It took me a long time to figure those things out. I became a resource for other parents and students trying to navigate that whole process. That was really important to me because I didn’t have that.
My own experiences have shaped the work I’ve chosen to do. I started working at SAFE, Services to Abused Families, in Culpeper in 2005. Listening to other women’s stories, knowing that I wasn’t alone, was a way for me to deal with my own trauma. I wanted to be an advocate for other women and children who were experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault and wanted a way out.
When I went to the Action Alliance [Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance] in Richmond, we did a lot of policy work, fighting for women’s rights and funding, getting legislators to listen and understand the need for it. I’m a lifetime member of Action Alliance. I still support them and do the work because it’s really important.
The work was actually pretty similar to what I do here at Germanna, advocating for our students. Information is power. When I started as a workforce advisor, I knew nothing about it. I learned everything I could from those who did know.
When I was in high school, there was such a stigma attached to students who went to a trade school or technology center. I went to the Piedmont Technology Center and became a certified nursing assistant. Now, those students who pursued their trades—the plumbers, the electricians, the HVAC technicians—we call on them all the time because we need their services. To see my former classmates who have their own plumbing business, their own HVAC business is validating.
I share that story with some of my students when they are wavering between whether they want to get a degree or certification or credential. I tell them, “You know, there is no shame in pursuing the trades. You can make a very lucrative career if you want to enter this pathway and that’s where your passion is.”
Students come here for an opportunity to better themselves. I get to be a part of that story. I can’t determine what success is for anybody. However they define it, I want them to be able to accomplish that, so they can pay it forward.
—Leslie Conway, Germanna Workforce Advisor
Kaitlyn Lamb · September 9, 2026
I left Virginia for Atlanta right out of high school. I had $500 and a suitcase. I knew one person. When I got there, it was not the situation I was expecting. I found myself at a crossroads. I stuck it out. I found a job as a server and got certified as a make-up artist. I spent 10 years there.
I never planned on being a mom. After I found out I was pregnant, I moved back to Virginia. When you become a mom, you have to face a lot of things you could get away with ignoring your whole life. I didn’t have an ideal childhood. My father is incarcerated. Some of my family members have struggled with addiction. I was raised by my grandparents.
Your kid is going to see what you do. Kids absorb everything. You’re their first role model. When it’s hard, you’ve got to keep going. Because they’re watching you.
When someone told me to go back to school, I was like, ‘Get real.’ I didn’t think I was going to be able to pull this off. I started and just didn’t give up. It’s given me a lot more confidence and a sense of belonging.
Being a single parent is a struggle. Some people won’t see your dream or vision, but it’s not theirs to see. You’ve got to find people who do. You’ve got to surround yourself with people who do. Once you come to Germanna, you will find someone who will support you. You have no idea how many people will root for you, people who don’t even know you.
You might not get there on a straight road. Success is not like that. It’s up and down and you might go backwards a few times. But eventually, you get there.
—Kaitlyn Lamb, Germanna Business Student
Michelle Rivas · September 2, 2026
I’ve wanted to be a nurse since I was little. My mom has always been a CNA. She would come home in scrubs. I was inspired.
In high school, I worked as an office manager and stayed there after I graduated. It was familiar. Now, I’m almost 30. I have three kids. My oldest is five and just started kindergarten. My second daughter is three, and I have a newborn who is two months old.
When I had my first child, she was in the NICU. The nurses took really good care of me, and it really matters during that time who is taking care of you. You’re going through a lot.
After I had my second child, I realized I was not happy where I was working or where I was in life. I wanted to do something worthwhile. I deserve more for myself and my family.
I went back to school. Honestly, I didn’t think I could do it. But there was another parent in the program. She did it, so I thought I could do it, too. I want to be a labor and delivery nurse.
I work full-time as a CNA. I’ve been on night shifts for about a year. Balancing school and work is doable, but it takes a lot of sacrifice. I’ve had to learn how to manage my time and stay organized. There are days when I’m tired, but I remind myself why I started in the first place.
—Michelle Rivas, Germanna student