Walton Interning at Piedmont Senior Resources

FARMVILLE – Abiding by its mission of serving and helping senior citizens in the Heart of Virginia, Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging (PSRAAA) has named a non-traditional student as an intern in its new Farmville office.

Sherron Walton, 68, of Meherrin, is studying human services at Old Dominion University. She is currently a senior, and is studying sociology as her minor.

At age 12, Walton was denied public education when the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors closed public schools in defiance of the Brown v. Board of Education decision to integrate public schools.

After the schools reopened, Walton would graduate in 1969 from the R.R. Moton High School.

“I always wanted a formal education, so deciding to enroll at SVCC was my starting point to obtaining an associate’s degree,” Walton said. “While at SVCC, I decided to continue. I wanted more education, so I enrolled at Old Dominion University online. That’s where I am currently as a senior.”

“I’m thrilled to have Sherron join our team for the spring semester,” said PSRAAA Executive Director Justine Young. “She brings a new, fresh perspective to our programming that further allows us to better serve the seniors in our seven-county region.”

During her internship, Walton is meeting PSRAAA clients, conducting surveys, delivering food, learning about direct care coordination, helping coordinate friendship cafes, fielding questions on the telephone and better understanding the services of the agency.

After most of her days so far at PSRAAA, she describes herself as “bubbling with excitement.”

Regarding choosing PSRAAA for her internship, she said, “I didn’t want to do like a social service agency per se, I wanted to explore my alternatives and I enjoy working with the senior population since that’s my area, my age category. So it was beneficial to me to go in that direction as opposed to social services.”

“I felt like education was taken from me during that time,” she said regarding the school closure in Prince Edward. “So, I wanted to see what I was able to do academically, how far I could go in furthering my education. The impact of closing the schools and not persuing further education was like a defeat. You think, ‘I can’t go any further than where I stopped with schools closed — maybe I can’t go any further (than) this.’ So I went back (when) schools reopened.”

Little did Walton know that years later she would be speaking during a PSRAAA Board of Directors meeting in January, describing her interests, her studies and her life. She called members of the board her “stakeholders,” referring to an academic term in her areas of study.

Outside of the classroom, Walton enjoys reading, listening to music, interacting with people, shopping with her daughters, and spending time with her “precious little god granddaughter.”