Persistence pays off for Oakton commencement speaker

Skokie resident Janelle Silva, a graduating Oakton Community College student who will deliver the commencement keynote, will tell the audience persistence pays off. She knows, having found that reaching some goals takes a little longer than others.

Silva, 36, is the on-site manager of the Skokie Farmers Market, teaches spin classes at the Skokie Park District and is a distance runner who has competed in marathons and triathlons around the world, where she is accustomed to outlasting mental and physical challenges. Her graduation in a ceremony at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the college's 2016 spring commencement will mark the end of a 15-year journey.

"I am very grateful to Oakton," she said. "They have been flexible with my schedule and provided guidance one class at a time, some online, some evenings, and some weekends. Without that flexibility, I couldn't have worked full time, raised my daughter and fulfilled this dream," she says.

There will be three special people in the audience. Her aunt, who has been like a mother and helped support tuition costs, will be flying in from New York. Her boss and mentor, Ann Tennes, the new chair of Oakton's board of trustees, also an Oakton alumna, has given her support and encouragement. And her 18-year-old daughter, Sara Wilson, who can't remember a time when her mother wasn't a student, has been particularly helpful with her mom's math homework for the past few years.

"I wasn't a dedicated student in high school," Silva said. "So when I started at Oakton I had some catching up to do. I was a mom with a 3-year-old child and needed to organize my college time around family life.

"However, I quickly discovered that many of the students at Oakton had greater challenges than mine, and that was very inspirational. … Many of these students were immigrants learning English for the first time. It was inspiring to get to know them and to see how hard they were working toward their own goals. The one thing we all had in common was that we were trying to make something better out of our lives. So we all bonded over algebra!"

Silva is receiving her associate degree in liberal arts and plans to study political science in the fall at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. With her daughter going off to college, Silva plans a faster pace, taking two courses per semester.

"I chose this major after working in city local government for the past 10 years," said Silva, who has worked full-time for Skokie in marketing communications since 2005 and manages several village programs and events. "I truly love my job and coming to work each day."

Commencement is a ticketed event for family and friends of graduates that will be broadcast live on Oakton's cable channel.