As Barkley stood at the front of the theatre on February 1, poised to deliver a presentation to the OS community with her two daughters, Tayah and Ella in the audience as students, it was a surreal moment--her life truly had come full circle.
A tumultuous home life and poor academic performance due to undiagnosed dyslexia brought Barkley to Oldfields’ campus in the middle of her sophomore year. It was a new beginning for her, and she described it as being “set free.” The caring community, engaged teachers, and the small class sizes quickly began to have an effect, and her confidence began to grow. She made long-lasting friendships (her best friend from Oldfields was actually in the audience listening) and found a surrogate family (Lacy Blalock Stahl ’93 and her parents--also in the audience). When money got tight after her parents’ divorce, the Blalocks invited her to live with them so she could continue at Oldfields.
She loved babysitting the campus kids. Anna Littlefield ’07 was one of them! She loved the Oldfields traditions, especially Garden Party and Graduation. Current students got a huge kick out of the photos she shared from waaay back in the 90s! She credits OS with teaching her a strong work ethic and giving her the confidence to keep trying despite difficult challenges. She felt loved and was happy.
Another new beginning—Barkley put herself through Louisiana State University by holding down three jobs. She graduated, met her husband, and had her two daughters. However, that marriage ended in divorce. After some tough, but rewarding years building her career and raising her beautiful daughters, she met a wonderful man who reiterated the lesson she first learned at Oldfields, that she was of value and deserved to be loved.
Tragically, two weeks into their marriage her husband had a stroke caused by a medical mistake and died. It wasn’t easy, but she applied the skills she learned along the way and moved forward, forced yet again to embrace a new way of life. Life continued with birthdays and vacations, and her daughters were growing up healthy and happy. Then a cancer diagnosis sent her world spinning again. After two years of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, Barkley was cancer free, and there was finally another hard-won new beginning.
Now, as she stood on Oldfields’ stage sharing her story, she was six years cancer free and recently chose to make yet another new beginning—moving from Louisiana to Sparks-Glencoe, Maryland, so her daughters could have the wonderful experience of going to school at Oldfields.
There were so many lessons for our students in Barkley’s story, and they were listening closely. One lesson that came through loud and clear was that in good times and in bad, your Oldfields family will always be there for you. Thank you, Barkley, for sharing your story and your daughters with us!