Chemeketa Voices

The student, the stork, and finding time for Chemeketa

College isn't a cakewalk at any time, but Luba Yesipenko has survived and thrived at Chemeketa Community College through some of her most trying times, even pregnancy.

"Last spring, I enrolled for spring term but I had to tell my instructors that I probably wouldn't make it through to the end. I had wonderful teachers throughout my pregnancy," said Yesipenko.

When she had her son, Timothy, near the end of her term, Yesipenko's instructors allowed her to finish her course work almost two months after the term ended.

"Everyone was so accommodating. It was like the first time I came to campus. Whenever I asked a question, the staff would not only tell me where I needed to go but lead me there," she said.

Yesipenko, whose family emigrated from Ukraine, chose Chemeketa after being homeschooled throughout her high school career. She'd earned her diploma at the age of 16.

"It was so much more socialized here. It was so much better. There were so many clubs to join and activities to do," she said.

Yesipenko chose criminal justice as her major, with hopes of doing forensic work, and also found a job with the student life office. She completed her associate's degree in criminal justice by the time she was 18, but "still couldn't get enough of Chemeketa."

Her life outside of school was charging forward at full speed. She'd gotten married and soon found out she was pregnant. The pregnancy changed not only her home life, but her school work.

"I had to take a lot of online courses and a lot of evening courses, but everyone was very accommodating," Yesipenko said.

Working with the student life office, Yesipenko found she'd honed a skill for event coordination.

"I've been in charge of Project Pageturner for the past three years and I've love planning every detail of it," she said.

Each year, Project Pageturner brings together a group of students from Hayesville Elementary School and Chemeketa students, faculty and staff to read books over milk and cookies.

"The (elementary) students also get to take free books home and watch a magician before they leave," she said.

She decided to continue studying at Chemeketa to pursue an event management certificate.

In addition to diverse course offerings, the diversity of the student body keeps Yesipenko coming back.

"I love the diversity here. You get to meet so many different people from different countries and learn from their experiences," she said. "It's one of the reasons I like working right next to the Multicultural Center."

Updated October 8, 2007 by Marketing and Student Recruitment.