Meet Chey, Riley, and Ada from opposite sides of the country

Meet Chey (left), Riley (center), and Ada (right) from opposite sides of the country! Riley was born and raised in Southern California. Ada and Chey are from Upstate New York. Chey and Ada are sisters. Ada is the older than Chey. Riley said, “Ada and I are good friends that met years ago when we were both working in Hawaii. I just came to New York for a couple of days and a quick visit.” Chey has been to Howe Caverns before but today was Riley and Ada’s first time. The only other cave that Riley and Ada have ever been is the Hana Lava Tube of Maui! When Riley was younger he was a bit of a troublemaker. He said, “I did well in school. I just didn’t enjoy it. Beginning in fourth grade, I started getting in trouble. I would often end up in suspension. In my senior year, I was sitting in suspension and the teacher looked at me and said, “What do you want to do with your life?” I said “I want to be a deep sea diver.” She said, “Go research it.” I went over to the computer and started my research. That day, I found a trade school that offered a year-long program. I made it through my senior year and graduated but to do so, I had to complete summer school. During that summer, I enrolled in the deep-sea diving school I had found during my research. Before being accepted, I had to complete a certification course. My certification course and my summer school, both unfortunately, fell on Saturday. I skipped summer school to attend the certification course. Doing that, only landed me right back in suspension, with the same exact teacher that had been seeing me through my senior year of suspensions. Her name was, Ms. Padilla. After I completed my summer school requirements and my certifications to be accepted into the trade school, I embarked on one of the best educational experiences and one of the best years of my life. I leaned into it with my whole heart. I went on after graduating to work for a dive company in Huntington, California. While I was working there, I began working on my captains license. Once I obtain my captains license, I moved on to upgrade my captains license. To do so, I had to move to Maui. Today, I spend my summers as the captain of a chartered fishing boat in Alaska and in the winter, I do the same in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. The one thing I want to tell the world is, never give up on your daydream. Sometimes, all it takes is one person to believe in you. Everything you want is on the other side of fear. Don’t spend your life chasing a dollar. Spend your life chasing your dreams.” What an incredible journey!

Thank you so much for visiting!

ON A SIDE NOTE: Ms. Padillla taught 12 years ago at El Toro High School in Lake Forest, California. Riley says he doesn’t think she knows what an incredible impact she had on his life that one day. If we can find her and thank her, that would be amazing! OK, Internet, do your thing! HELP US FIND Ms. Padilla