Kayla Campos of Alliance, Nebraska, is the Project Strive/TRiO Student of the Month for April 2023.
Campos, an English Studies major with a minor in Creative Writing, plans to become a full-time published author. According to Campos, English was her best subject in grade school and that’s when she first began to love creative writing. She believes English is a field that allows one to be creative and expressive.
Her high school English teacher first encouraged her to think about becoming an author, according to Campos.
“She knew I loved writing and believed I was really good at it,” Campos said. “Before that, I was thinking of going into Criminal Justice or maybe becoming an English teacher, but she really pushed me to start my path to becoming an author, and I’m happy with my decision so far.”
After graduating from CSC, Campos plans to go abroad to teach English for a couple of years while finishing her first novel, a supernatural story about vampires.
“I started my vampire novel in a fiction class here on campus,” Campos said. “We had to brainstorm and draw pictures, so I drew a vampire and just kind of went with it. But after I got started, I really started to like where it was going; now I’m excited to finish it.”
Campos hopes to teach in South Korea while she finishes her novel.
“I’ve been thinking about teaching in South Korea because I know a lot of the culture and the language there,” Campos said. “I plan on staying there two years, but if I love it there or need more time to write, I can always stay longer.”
Campos said finding a career as an English professor would satisfy her if she doesn’t become a successful author. She has also thought about moving to New York to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in English and have a better opportunity at finding a publishing company.
Campos is also a member of the International Club, which she feels has helped her in several ways.
“I joined the International Club to help me meet new people and get out of my comfort zone,” Campos said. “The whole club is like one big family and I ended up meeting a lot of my close friends there. I also wanted to meet other people that came from ethnic backgrounds like me.”
Growing up with immigrant parents is what Campos feels has made school so important to her.
“Both of my parents are from Mexico and I come from a family that struggled a lot to fit into the United States,” said Campos, “I want to pay my gratitude and respect back to my parents for all they’ve done for me and our family to make sure we could have the best life possible.”
Associate Professor of English and Humanities Dr. Mary Clai Jones believes Campos is an excellent student.
“Kayla is a wonderful student to have in class because I can count on her to make excellent observations and to give insight on our readings,” Jones said. “She’s also a creative and kind person.”
Chadron State College’s Project Strive/TRiO program, located in the lower level of the King Library, is an academic enrichment program committed to help students succeed. Project Strive also focuses on career exploration, cultural and social enrichment, and self-awareness. To be eligible for the program, a student must be one of the following: A first-generation student where neither parent has a four-year degree, meet low-income status based on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services criteria, or have a documented disability. For more information, visit https://www.csc.edu/projectstrive/.