KINGSTON, R.I. – Feb. 8, 2023 – If Verna Lafreniere were to write a book, the Exeter resident would title it “Hurdles and Rainbows.”

But those who see Lafreniere in action as an information aide at the University of Rhode Island’s Robert J. Higgins Welcome Center might think her life has been mostly filled with rainbows. Before saying a word to prospective students and their parents and many other visitors, Lafreniere puts them at ease with a beaming smile.

She has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors to URI and inspired students and staff in her role as Rhody’s greeter and information provider. Few know that behind those smiles, there is a relentless determination to remain optimistic and be an extraordinary public servant.

“There are days when I get down, but it’s much easier to be happy,” said Lafreniere, who started as a student at URI in the fall of 1971. “So many say that ‘you only live once,’ but I say ‘you only die once, so live.’”

That short statement summarizes the numerous times Lafreniere has decided to live a fulfilling, happy and inspiring life instead of one governed by pain and loss.

During her first year as a student at URI, she bought a motorcycle to save money for her commute to and from Exeter.

But the enjoyment of those daily, scenic commutes was short lived. During her second semester, the 18-year-old’s life nearly ended when a drunken driver crashed into her, causing her bike to explode in flames. If it weren’t for her sister, Vivian, following behind Verna on her own motorcycle and then yanking her from the flames, Lafreniere said she probably would have died.

She was given Last Rites at South County Hospital, and then transferred to Rhode Island Hospital where she stayed for six months, enduring multiple surgeries on both legs, a foot, and shoulder. She was treated for burns that covered 38 percent of her body and spent almost two years in a wheelchair.

Then one day, luck or divine intervention came calling. While she sat in her wheelchair in the front yard of her family’s home, she saw a white van drive by, and then return.

“The driver got out and told me he was from the state’s Vocational Rehabilitation Program and he asked me if I would like to continue my college studies,” Lafreniere said.

She said “yes,” to this guardian angel, whose name Lafreniere no longer remembers. He helped her register for classes at the Community College of Rhode Island and learn how to get in and out of her car from her wheelchair.

Then as she grew stronger, moving from a wheelchair, to braces and finally to crutches, she transferred to Rhode Island College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education in 1978.

Thanks to her determination and another person in her life, Lafreniere has been able to use those art-adorned, wooden crutches to get around for 51 years.

“Russell Baker was my physical therapist, and while he was working with me, I thought he was mean. He worked me so hard. But oh God, I love him now, he really pushed me,” Lafreniere said. 

She taught for a short time at South Kingstown’s now-closed South Road School, but then left to tutor students at her home.

“I tutored 54 students over the years and about the only thing I couldn’t teach was calculus,” Lafreniere said. “It was very rewarding, seeing the light bulb go on when they got it, especially in kids who were having difficulty.”

For 24 years, she also worked at Oatley’s, her family’s restaurant that once stood on Route 102 in North Kingstown. Deftly maneuvering around the restaurant on her crutches, she waited tables and helped manage the operation.

“I loved that job, too, working with my sisters, and we had such wonderful customers. I was very sad when it closed,” she said of the now razed restaurant.

After working for two summers on Block Island and jobs at The Narragansett Inn and All Outdoors Power Equipment Inc., she received a call from Robert Drapeau, former director of public safety, to come to URI for an interview for the information aide position. 

“When he offered me the job, I was so excited because now I was a state worker, with a great job and benefits,” Lafreniere said. “But it was so much more than that. I felt as though I had come home, back to where I started my education. This is where I belong.

“I work in the best place in the world,” Lafreniere said. “I love it here, the students are the best in the world and I have the best boss and co-worker (Robin Noel) in the world. I am so lucky to have been invited to many of our students’ weddings.”

Erin Earle, director of undergraduate enrollment, new student transitions and visitor experience and Lafreniere’s supervisor, reciprocated Lafreniere’s feeling of being lucky. “Verna is a URI living legend. Her remarkable memory and kind spirit provide visitors with an extremely warm welcome. I am always amazed at how she welcomes returning visitors, remembering details of their interaction even if it was years before. I feel so lucky to have such a dedicated and caring colleague who truly embodies our goal of welcoming all to URI.” 

Lafreniere lives what most would call an adventurous life.

She’s been to Portugal, Nashville three times, Alaska and the Caribbean. She will travel in May to Punta Cana to celebrate her niece’s 40th birthday.

But still it seems that URI and work give her the most joy. One parent said the first thing he saw when he entered the center was Lafreniere’s smile, telling Lafreniere later that he “was so glad when his daughter decided to enroll at URI.”

Halen Reed, a junior tour guide from Cranston, shared desk duty one recent day with Lafreniere.

“Verna is so amazing, and so spunky, so on fire,” said the secondary education-English double major. “She’ll tell you stories and give you a whole new perspective on life.”

Through it all, Lafreniere said she is blessed to have such loving family members, friends, colleagues and students.

“I ask our students for advice, and they ask me for advice. We help each other with stress. A lot of what I love about this job has to do with our students.”