Chemeketa Voices

Adriana Leon

Read Adriana's BlogMy name is Adriana Leon. I am 18 years old and currently in my second term at Chemeketa. I am the second oldest of four girls and have lived in Salem for 12 years. I graduated from South Salem High School in 2006. After graduating, I had no idea what I was going to do next. I didn't know what I would be interested in studying. For eight long months I did nothing - no school, no work, no driver's license, pretty much no life. Finally, one day my mom and a good friend of hers sat me down and gave me the talk.

Between the two of them they convinced me to come to school. Somehow they made me feel like it was possible and that I could do it. Before the two of them talked to me I had always heard about how hard college was. People would talk about all the homework and studying they would have to do every day. That day my mom pointed out to me that she had started her career at Chemeketa. My mom had come to the U.S. at age 23. She knew no English, didn't drive and she couldn't work. She came to Chemeketa to take a class. From that day forward she was hooked. She enrolled in ESL classes, got her GED and to this day continues to work on her transfer degree. She now has a full-time job with Salem Keizer School District that she loves. If my mom did it then so can I. Life is hard for a little bit, but trust me it's worth it, and at the end you will be happy and enjoy life more than ever.

There's time for everything..

Updated November 21, 2007 by Marketing and Student Recruitment.