October 2004

By Greg Rosenthal
Special to FYI Online

Laverne Frayer

For Laverne Frayer, secretary to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, her time at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) was more than just a steppingstone on the road to UMUC. She holds warm memories of her years at PGCC and happily agreed to engage in a bit of nostalgia by addressing the 2004–05 Community College Scholars dinner at UMUC on October 12, 2004.

“I loved attending PGCC, the classroom participation, and the interaction with fellow students,” said 54-year-old Frayer, a resident of Fort Washington, Maryland. Frayer graduated from PGCC with an associate’s degree in business management in May 2003.

“It took a lot of years, since in the early years, I took classes only sporadically,” she said. “When I first started taking classes at PGCC, my oldest daughter was a teenager and I also had two younger children. My husband worked at night, so I found that I needed to be at home with the children.”

The month she graduated, PGCC awarded her a transfer scholarship based on her academic achievement. And she knew where to transfer.

“I had heard good things about UMUC, and I had already earned some credits here in paralegal studies,” she said. “I still like the interaction at UMUC, but I have to travel farther for classes, especially when I come to College Park.”

Fortunately for Frayer, mixing in online classes helps take the sting out of the commute. “I am enjoying both face-to-face classes and online classes,” she said. “The face-to-face classes allow for personal interaction with professors and students. The online classes allow me to spend more time at home.”

At UMUC, Frayer chose to major in human resource management because she enjoys working with people and always had an interest in law. She hopes to graduate in 2006; after that, her career plans are flexible.

In the meantime, she is enjoying her work at the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court is a beautiful building and is a great place to work,” she said. “It’s a small agency, like living in a small town. We all know one another.

“I am responsible primarily for organizing the materials [Rehnquist] needs when he goes on the bench to hear oral arguments and making sure that he has all of the materials necessary for weekly conferences,” she added.

She puts her organizational abilities to work in her personal life, as well, juggling responsibilities to fit in time for classes and homework.

“To work UMUC classes into my life, I read or study during my lunch hour and in the evenings after I get home,” Frayer said. “I try to take at least one evening off from studies. I rarely get to watch TV, but occasionally I do go out with friends.”

While she might not have much leisure time, she knows how to spend it when she has it. “During my spare time, I like to go to the theater [and] jazz concerts, read mystery novels, and take long walks,” Frayer said. “I am currently enrolled in a dance class and a golf class. I am also involved with my church on the outreach and finance committees.”

Now divorced, Frayer enjoys spending time with her three grown children—two daughters and a son—and her four grandchildren.