Student Showcase: Cosette Leman
By Sarah Sutton, 8/27/19
Cosette Leman is a student at Illinois Central College. Her major is currently undeclared, however, she has expressed enthusiasm for journalism. Cosette hopes to pursue a degree in that field, overseeing interactions with various groups of people, Cosette including Southeast Asia, Thailand, Switzerland, France, and India. Cosette and her family lived in India for ten years. While staying there, her dad worked as a basic family practitioner in a small village called Herbertpur. Cosette had spent the past six months living in India prior to being enrolled at ICC. This trip was financially supported through friends, family and an organization through her church, called Commotion. Her trip to India was centered around Dali and focused on the youth in that city. When asked about the conditions of Dali, Cosette stressed the comfort she felt there, and that it was ‘almost like home.’ While staying in Dali, Cosette lived in an apartment with three of her friends and three local girls. Cosette’s goal was to help learn from the people in Dali about the many problems occurring there. These issues included social change, human trafficking, and domestic abuse. Cosette helped invoke change by working with the students at the University of Dali. There, she helped to make better website designs, write, and interview for a documentary that took place there. One of Cosette’s main focuses was to advocate change, not just for Dali, but all of India,
Besides living in India, Cosette also lived in Thailand, Bloomington and Washington, Illinois for short periods of time. Currently, Cosette lives in Morton, Illinois, with her parents and three brothers, one older brother and two younger than she. Her father is Caucasian, and her mother is Korean. Cosette’s mother was born in Korea, adopted by her parents there, and then moved to the midwest as a baby. In Cosette’s words, “My mother describes herself as a Twinkie. Yellow on the outside, white on the inside.” She laughed at this, emphasizing the positive effects being biracial has had on her. Cosette remarked that her family is overall normal, and could be seen as a nuclear family. However, this cultural influence, including the privilege of living outside the United States and traveling, has given Cosette a broad perspective of the world. This has allowed Cosette to see the world differently, and to view the United States in more than just a Westernized ideology. Cosette embraces international communities and thrives while traveling abroad. However, not all of Cosette’s travels have been smooth sailing. Cosette remarked on this occasion vividly, stating, “I once got mugged at the Eiffel Tower, can you believe that-the Eiffel Tower? The person who mugged me shoved me against a wall and stole my wallet. Thank goodness my passport wasn’t in it!”
Some of the hobbies Cosette is invested in outside ICC are playing instruments, painting, illustrating ink drawings, hiking, and rock climbing, Cosette’s seasoned rock climbing abilities, plus her five years of experience, scored her a current job at First Ascent, in the Warehouse District of Peoria, Illinois. Her desire for hiking and rock climbing stems from her time in India when she “lived at the foothills of the Himalayas.” Cosette was more modest about her artistic abilities, stating, “Yeah, I do some doodles. When I paint I don’t paint on canvas, I do more physical objects, like painting longboards for people. One time when I was in Switzerland I gave ink drawings to a man there, he asked me to get coffee after.” Cosette smiled at this, and agreed that her artistic abilities are ‘crafty.’ Cosette is musically gifted as well, being able to play the piano, guitar, and electric bass. When asked about her pet, Cosette described her dog, “He’s mangy, like a mutt. He’s also dumb, like the dumbest dog I’ve ever known, but I love him.” Cosette continued with a rather sour memory, “I used to have a hamster, but my mom vacuumed him up with the vacuum cleaner! It wasn’t on purpose, he crawled inside and she began to use it.” Needless to say, Cosette was shell shocked by this horribly, hilarious experience.
Wrapping up her interview, Cosette was asked, “What is your main goal in life?”‘ to which she replied, “To do something that makes a difference. To make a change. To challenge the norm, and push outside the limits.” Cosette continued to explain her fear of living a normal life. She emphasized wanting to accomplish many things with the time she has, helping influence others to be a catalyst for good. Cosette has lived far from average life. The stories she tells and the lessons she has learned are shown through her passion and grit. It will be amazing to see what Cosette will accomplish in the future.