‘Delayed is not denied’
Robyn Roberts is no stranger to the long road.
The 63-year-old has been team driving with her husband Tim for over 15 years. Her work has taken her across the country, but the road to her most recent accomplishment may have been her longest yet – the road to becoming a college graduate.
Roberts wasn’t always behind the wheel. In fact, her first passion was the law – a field she spent nearly three decades in before getting into a truck.
After graduating high school in 1977, she attended Howard University for two years. Roberts’ parents then agreed to let her take a semester off with the stipulation that she find work. She landed a job with an attorney, with college taking a back seat.
“That began a 29-year career in the legal field before I quit and got on the truck with Tim,” Roberts told Land Line Now.
A mother of eight, Roberts said she decided to earn her CDL in 2008 after her youngest decided to leave for college. With an empty nest, she found she was missing her over-the-road trucker husband. She added that she knew he couldn’t adjust his schedule to be home more, so she decided, “If the mountain won’t come to Mohamed, then Mohamed will go to the mountain.”
The two have been team driving ever since.
Back to school
Over the years, Roberts’ family grew to include 33 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Naturally, that comes with the responsibility of imparting words of wisdom at varying stages of their lives.
One of those moments arose when Roberts was having a conversation with her grandson about his plans after high school. As she was emphasizing the importance of going to college, the young man pointed out that she hadn’t finished her degree and was doing well.
“I told him it wasn’t easy to just get in a truck and be a truck driver. And yes, it is a good living – we enjoy the living we make – but you should always try to expand your education,” Roberts said. “Go as far as you can in your education … Once you finish that, if you still want to be a trucker, go for it.”
That’s when the two struck a deal: If Roberts would return to finish her degree, her grandson would pursue college after completing high school.
True to her word, she enrolled in online classes at Southern New Hampshire University. While still driving with her husband, she took one class per term (an eight-week span) working toward her degree in business administration.
To make things interesting, Roberts and her grandson turned their grade point averages into a contest: Her GPA when she graduated college versus his when he graduated high school.
“Needless to say, I beat the pants off of him,” Roberts, who graduated with a 3.98 GPA, said with a laugh.
Finding time for that coursework – on top of her driving responsibilities – wasn’t always easy.
Roberts joked that her laptop “became an appendage” and said that she did 90% of her studies from inside her truck, often pulling into rest areas to finish assignments.
“It’s not easy typing when you’re bouncing down these highways,” she added.
Despite the obstacles, Roberts continued to tackle classes with the support of her husband and family. Nearly five years later, in November 2023, she graduated with honors.
As for her grandson, Roberts said he finished high school a year before she completed her degree and had been working ever since, so she had to “remind him of our agreement.”
In January 2024, he began classes at the same university where Roberts had earned her degree mere months prior.
“To watch me go back and finish and see what satisfaction it is to cross the stage and get a college degree made him want to go,” she said.
For her next act, Roberts said she’s mulling over going to law school. She added that because her story gained national attention, she has “about 25 to 30” different schools vying for her attention and application.
While Roberts acknowledges that the journey wasn’t always easy, she encourages others to follow their passions and pursue their goals.
“There’s always time to do what’s in your heart,” she said. “Delayed is not denied.” LL