Kaden Gayoso, a 20-year-old College of Lake County student, balances the importance of volunteering, creative writing and a well-paying job.
Gayoso currently lives in the Lake Zurich area with his mom, her boyfriend, and two younger siblings. Gayoso grew up in the Aurora area with his mom and older sister, his dad leaving them when he was young. Gayoso graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School and upon his graduation, moved out to the Lake Zurich area.
“It [Waubonsie Valley High] had a lot of opportunities that were not really available in other schools in the area,” Gayoso said. “I was able to take ASL (American Sign Language) and a cosmic journey class, which was a study of the stars and planets in the planetarium in my school.”
While a high school, Gayoso worked at Olive Garden, a large chain Italian restaurant. However, he said the pay was too low and quit just after three months.
“I was a busboy, and we got paid $6.50 an hour, and I got 5% of tips, so if the server made $100, I would get $5,” Gayoso said.
He then took a break after his time at Olive Garden to enjoy the rest of high school.
As a college student, Gayoso works at a local Boba shop, Bearology. He uses the money he gains from working there to pay for school and general living expenses until he graduates from the College of Lake County.
“I’ve always enjoyed the art of creating drinks,” Gayoso said “When I was younger, I wanted to go into mixology and become a bartender. Naturally, I’m under 21 so that was not an option, so I chose to become a barista instead.”
Gayoso is working toward a bachelor’s in creative writing. His hope is to become a screenwriter for video games. However, Gayoso expressed his concern for entering the creative writing field, saying it is a very difficult place to make money. He compared it to a high school teacher’s salary. Because of this concern, Gayoso has been looking into marketing to see if this would be a better fit for his future.
“I just googled the top paying jobs and looked for one that piqued my interest,” Gayoso said. “That’s when I saw marketing and thought I could do that.”
Gayoso decided to begin taking some basic classes at the community college that could be used for both a degree in creative writing or a degree in marketing. Gayoso shared another reason for choosing to attend a community college was due to finances. While he is grateful for all his mom has done for him, he said they simply didn’t have the money for him to go to a four-year school and that he was “jealous” of the kids whose parents saved for them to attend a four year college.
“They’re like ‘oh I just go to university for eight months of the year and just be a student,’” Gayoso said.
While Gayoso may be jealous of the four-year college experience, he does say that the College of Lake County has a few perks.
“Sometimes the people out in the main atrium give out free pizza,” Gayoso said.
Gayoso is also in a serious relationship. He has been dating his “partner” since he was 14. Gayoso met his partner in elementary school but didn’t begin dating until middle school and had hopes of getting married someday.
“Girlfriend feels like such casual slang, and partner feels more serious, like this is my partner we are working together,” Gayoso says.
This “working together” is very evident as their relationship lasted all through high school and into college. He has seen her go through ups and downs and has learned to be very patient from that.
Gayoso has a heart for others, which is shown in his love of volunteering. The 20-year-old college student has handed out water at a marathon event and helped in a decorating day for children with diseases.
“I heard a quote one time that said ‘nice people do things in order to receive something, and kind people do it just because,” Gayoso said, “I was like am I a kind person or a nice person? Do I do good things because I expect to receive from other people, or do I do good things simply because it is the right thing to do?”
Gayoso encourages other students to do the same.
“When all is said and done, it’s about what you give, not what you have because someday you’ll leave them behind,” he said. “So what matters is what you give to others and, I guess, the world.”
