WEST LEBANON — When Gregory Samuels walks across the stage to receive his degree from the Community College of Vermont Saturday, it will be the completion of a dream that’s been more than a decade in the making.
Samuels, a 55-year-old West Lebanon resident, will officially receive his associate’s degree in business during the graduation ceremony at Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. He is one of about 500 students who earned associate’s degrees this spring from the college, which has a branch in White River Junction.
On Saturday, he will also be honored with a student leadership award. Staff at the Upper Valley CCV branch nominated Samuels for the award “for his commitment to higher education and the resiliency and persistence he has demonstrated during his time at CCV,” according to a college spokesperson.
Samuels has “overcome difficult circumstances” to achieve “something meaningful,” he said in an interview in West Lebanon last Friday.
“It’s not only about getting a degree or financial success,” he said. “For me, it’s more personal, it’s more growth.”
Samuels first moved from Jamaica to Vermont in 2002 to work at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vt. After working for the ski area until around 2008, he made his way to the Upper Valley and started attending CCV in 2015.
After spending time in other Upper Valley communities including Quechee and Randolph, he settled in West Lebanon. Samuels, who is divorced, has four children ages 4 to 9.
He was inspired to get his degree, in part, by his family in Jamaica, who valued education. His mother had started to get a degree but was unable to finish it due to family obligations. She encouraged Samuels to never give up on pursuing a degree of his own.
“That’s something our parents always enforce, school, getting an education,” said Samuels, who has five siblings, including a brother who lives on Cape Cod.
Samuels started with basic English and math courses, which proved to be challenging at first.
“I’m out of school for over 20 years, you know?” he said with a chuckle. “Nobody told me it was going to be easy, so I wasn’t looking for that.”
When Samuels began his studies, he was working night shifts at the Hanover Inn where he set up for events the venue hosted, as well as other responsibilities.
“I used to bring my homework at work with me so sometimes I would get a little help from an employee too,” Samuels said, noting that there were times he would go straight from work to CCV.
He usually took two classes at a time. At first, he took classes in person and eventually he started taking online classes. He paid for his education through grants and also took out about $20,000 in student loans.
During his time at CCV, he returned to construction, which he did in Jamaica before he moved to Vermont. He worked for other Upper Valley contractors, where he learned different skills, including how to install sheet rock. The majority of homes in Jamaica are built out of cinder blocks, so he hadn’t encountered sheet rock before.
Eventually, he struck off on his own and is now self-employed.
“I like construction,” Samuels said. “I like when I go to work I can look back and I can see what I can do.”
At times, Samuels took time away from his schooling to care for his family and focus on his work. “Sometimes things get a little bumpy,” he said, crediting his advisers with checking in on him and encouraging him to keep going through the decade.
His brother and sister-in-law are coming up from Cape Cod to attend the ceremony and his sister is flying in from the Cayman Islands to attend. Also present will be his four children, who will see the results of their father’s perseverance. He shares custody of his children with his ex-wife.
“You can take a break, but you cannot give up,” Samuels said when asked what advice he’d give to other people pursuing degrees while balancing work and raising a family.
Key to earning his degree, he said, was keeping his goal in mind: “I start something, I have to finish it. Education is good. It’s a key to a lot of success.”
Samuels plans to use what he learned at CCV to improve his business, but he isn’t done with his educational journey yet. He’s planning on applying for a permit so he can prepare and sell Jamaican food — including jerk chicken — from his West Lebanon home.
He also hopes to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business when the time is right.
Community College of Vermont Class of 2026 Upper Valley graduates: Aura Ruth Anthony, White River Junction; Brandi Mae Balch, East Thetford; Sydney Deitrick, South Royalton; Jennifer C. Desellier, White River Junction; Shaquoya Anne Rose Dessaint, Randolph; Rachel Ann Hookway, Bradford, Vt.; Nathan Douglas Gardner, Hartland; Matthew Ryan Hawk, Hartford; Sarah Ann Howe, Tunbridge; Mariah Elizabeth Kennison, White River Junction; Nigel Ledesma Klarich, Vershire; Rieley Quinn Lyford, Randolph; Paul McAree, Hartland; Denel L. McIntire, Bridgewater Corners; Chloe Lynne Midgett, Springfield, N.H.; Shadya Nasrallah, Plainfield; Sierra Issa Bella O’Leary, Fairlee; Tydus Percy, Windsor; Brittany Lee Piper, Thetford Center; Megan Elizabeth Roberts, Norwich; Gregory George Samuels, West Lebanon; Danielle Lindsie Smith, Bradford, Vt.; Megan Laurel Swanson, Bethel; Christine Elizabeth Swift, Bradford, Vt.; and Emily Morgan Williams, Windsor.
