Not Your Stereotypical Student

Her fingers tap nervously as she responds to the interview questions. Fellow University of Maine student, Cassandra Riegler Fread claims she “doesn’t understand the importance of this interview, or the significance.” Fread continues to say, “what have I done to be the focus of this profile story?” These remarks illustrate her strong independent persona that she claims to have possessed “forever.”
Cassandra is the oldest among her six siblings at age twenty-two. Her parents work as contractors off of Accomac Island, Virginia. She was eleven when her second to youngest sibling, Robert was born. While describing her brother she refers to him as her “baby boy.” Justifiably, Cassandra spent the first two years of her brother’s life providing basic necessities for him to live nourished; while her mother and father were building houses along the Eastern shore of Virginia. At fourteen years old, Cassandra started to work at a restaurant on the side of attending high school.
“At a very young age, I learned that if I wanted something… I had to work and pay for it,” Fread says proudly. This attitude she possesses mirrors those of past generations who experienced the “great depression.”
“Mama’ and Daddy worked really hard to assist me financially.” She pauses. “However, in a family of seven children it is very hard for a parent to focus on a sole child.” Cassandra says this with a gracious smile.
Currently, Fread is a senior at University of Maine majoring in Elementary Education with a concentration in Spanish. She is paying for school out of pocket with the help of “a few scholarships, grants and loans.” Cassandra is also paying her health and auto insurance, among rent and general necessities. This humble woman helps create a positive stereotype for non-college attendees to possess.
SPECIAL THANKS TO CASSANDRA RIEGLER FREAD
& GOOD LUCK!