Beth Kessler recently watched with pride as her daughter Sky walked across the stage at Fairmont State College, turned her tassel, and entered the next stage of life.
Though Kessler said she knew Sky would one day find herself on the graduation stage, she said it wasn’t always clear whether it would be on foot or in a wheelchair.
“Sky was born with spina bifida,” she said of her daughter, now 22 years old. “She had probably 30 surgeries before she was 12, and doctors told me she would most likely not be able to walk.
“But she’s mobile,” she continued. “She’s not in a wheelchair and she’s doing wonderfully. It’s amazing.”
Kessler knew she would be unable to fully control her daughter’s medical struggles, but she made it her mission to make sure every other aspect of Sky’s childhood was easier than her own had been.
“I came from kind of a troubled home,” she said, of her early years in Beckwith, W.Va. “Both of my parents had their struggles, and they split up when I was 13. I dropped out of school in 8th grade and was pretty much on my own by the time I was 15.”
Kessler was just 17 and living with her boyfriend when Sky was born.
It was motherhood, she said, that made her realize she needed to make changes in her own life.
“That’s when reality really hit,” she said. “I just knew I didn’t want my children to know the life I had known. I wanted to set a good example.”
A year later, when she and Sky’s father broke up, Kessler moved back home, as she said her parents had made strides in their own lives and had reconciled.
“My mom actually found out she was pregnant with my little sister at the same time I was pregnant with Sky,” she said, adding her parents are doing well and are still together today.
Back at home with her parents doing well, Kessler focused on her daughter.
“She had multiple surgeries when she was still a baby,” she explained. “I was a single mom, taking care of most of that on my own, so it really took up most of my time.”
As Sky grew, Kessler, who is also the mother of 15-year-old Trey, began working part-time jobs, bartending and cleaning house.
She was in search of something more in 2021 when she was hired to work in the kitchen at Beckley ARH Hospital.
It was a job she enjoyed, but two years later, when a position working in Stores opened up, she took a chance.
“I work directly with the OR, stocking them with all the supplies they need,” she said, explaining her role in the department that stocks all incoming packages and distributes them throughout the hospital.
Kessler had been on the job for 8 months when she was told HR needed a copy of her high school diploma for her personnel file.
“I explained to them that I didn’t have one,” she said. “And it brought be to tears because I loved my job and I was terrified because I knew I was going to lose it.”
What happened next, though, is something that still surprises her.
“I talked to administration and to HR and they were so nice,” she said. “They told me, ‘Don’t worry. We’re going to help you get it. You’re going to keep your position and you’re going to get your GED.’”
Kessler was relieved to have a second chance, but also scared to begin work on something she left behind more than two decades earlier.
“School was always a struggle for me, so I honestly never considered getting my GED because I never thought I would need it,” she said. “I never thought I’d have a job beyond fast food or something, so this was scary.”
Kessler’s determination overpowered her fear, however, as she enrolled in the Fayette Adult Learning Center, where she studied for eight months before passing her GED on her first try in the summer of 2024.
“I took the test and then had to wait until the next day to find out if I passed,” she said. “I logged in and saw, ‘Congratulations!’
“I was so happy and relieved.”
Kessler also said she felt a sense of pride in conquering something she didn’t believe possible.
“It really was great to feel that,” she said. “My daughter was definitely proud but even my little boy said he was proud of me, so that was big.”
She said she is grateful to Beckley ARH administration, to her coworkers and her supervisor Jean Daniel for their support and encouragement.
“So many people had a hand in making this possible,” she said. “I definitely have great coworkers. They’re like a little family.”
