By: Connor Dowling

Chloe Peterson is a junior at the University of Oregon where she is studying advertising and political science. Like any college student, Peterson has fun with her friends, goes to class, and attends school events. One thing that sets her apart from many is her determination and her work ethic. Often times, when Peterson is not working towards earning her degrees, she is working to put herself through school. Peterson works at the Office of Major Student Events and she recently started working at the Campus Copy Center. Peterson works every weekday, which takes up about 24 hours per week. She is financially independent of her parents which means that she is responsible for all of her “own gas, rent money, groceries, and other life bills.” She has two jobs so she, “can pay for everything and still have extra money to do things with [her] friends.” Peterson lives with four other roommates. Melinda, the only other girl in the house, notices that they are never home at the same time. While Peterson is busy during the day Melinda is busy at night, “I don’t see her very often because of how much she’s working.” Peterson’s life was not always this hectic.

Peterson started attending the UO in the fall of 2015. During her first-year, money was not a pressing issue because student loans covered on-campus housing and dining. That changed half-way through her sophomore year. At first, she got a job and started working as the Volunteer and Database Manager for the Office of Major Student Events, to make some extra spending money. Eventually, she realized that her rent was consistently being paid late. Over the next few months, Peterson talked on the phone with her mom and it became clear that her family was struggling to financially support her. She is the oldest of five and as her siblings started to enter high school, expenses for her parents grew. It was over these few months that she realized that she would have to start putting herself through college.

Going forward, Peterson has an internship in Dublin, Ireland at an advertising agency for winter term. When she returns back to UO, her supervisors said that she can continue working for them in spring term and up and until her graduation. Her ideal job after graduation is to work in brand management. She wants a job where she can create relationships with businesses to best be able to identify what their consumers want from a product. She is open to living around the world as long as she is in a position she is happy with.