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Podcast: S8 Ep. 11
Date: April 22, 2025
Title: Adriana Wong stitches a path to success
Host: John Rollins

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JOHN ROLLINS: Welcome to the ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø Moment, where we showcase all of the great things happening with ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø faculty, staff, students and alumni. I'm John Rollins, associate director of community relations and public affairs here at ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø, and I want to welcome you all to this week's show. Today we're sitting down with a ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø senior who took her love for crocheting and turned it into a business. Adriana Wong is an education major here at ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø and it's my pleasure to welcome her to the show today. Adriana, welcome to the podcast, and thanks for joining me today on the ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø moment.

ADRIANA WONG: Hi.

JOHN: Glad to have you here.

ADRIANA: Glad to be here.

JOHN: Yes, I'm so glad you accepted my invitation to come join. So, we'll go ahead and dive right into our talk about your crochet business. The name of the business is Hooked: Handmade with Love. So, what inspired you to start a business like this?

ADRIANA: I was pretty much just trying to find a hobby. I was going through a lot mentally, dealing with some mental health struggles, and I needed something to keep me occupied, interested, and to keep my mind busy. So, I dove right in. I literally asked my aunt to borrow yarn and a hook, and I asked, “Could I try?” She taught me a few things, but then I just YouTubed everything. That’s all I did—just practice, practice, and practice.

JOHN: Hey, YouTube is a source for a lot of information for sure. I've had friends who learned how to play guitar from YouTube. You can learn a lot from YouTube, right? In YouTube we trust, right?

ADRIANA: Yeah.

JOHN: So, you said your aunt had the materials already? Had you like, seen her doing this growing up?

ADRIANA: Yes, so I would always see her doing it whenever we went on trips to Mexico in the summer. It was mostly adults, and then me being the only child at the time, so I was just bored. I would go to the store, and she’d bring me to get yarn and everything, and I’d do little things. There was this weird wood piece where you could put the yarn into certain hooks, and it would slowly come out as a scarf. It was very simple and easy to do, but as I got older, I wanted to learn the actual techniques and the real patterns and everything.

JOHN: Very neat. And like you said, going back to that mental health piece—it seems like, even though I don’t crochet (and I don’t know if I’d have the patience to sit down and crank it out), it does seem like it would be therapeutic. Just going through the rhythm of everything, and then getting to see your finished product.

ADRIANA: Yes.

JOHN: And you kind of know your timeline, like okay, “I can make three of these squares in two hours.”

ADRIANA: It takes so long—even the smallest piece—but it really keeps your mind busy. You’re counting, sometimes going back stitches or having to add stitches, so it just keeps your brain occupied. For me, at least, I don’t even realize how long I’ve been sitting there. Then I look at the clock, and it’s hours later—and I’ve only made, like, three squares, like you said. It’s crazy.

JOHN: That's how you know you love it.

ADRIANA: Yeah.

JOHN: So, very very neat. I mentioned earlier. You are an ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø senior majoring in education. We love that. That's just a small piece of your journey, so let's get to know more about you.

ADRIANA: I’m a senior at Lamar—graduating in May, finally! It’s been a long time coming. It’s taken me eight years, which is a really long time, so I’m just glad I’m finally here. I’ve grown up in Port Arthur my whole life, and I’m the youngest of four.

JOHN: Hey, no shame in the eight-year thing—you gotta do what you gotta do. I graduated at 26, so I can definitely relate.

ADRIANA: Yep, 26!

JOHN: You're currently student teaching at Helena Park Elementary School in Nederland. Would you like to share more about that experience?

ADRIANA: It's so much fun! I’m student teaching fourth grade right now, and I’m really enjoying it. The kids are great—they’re funny, and it’s just the cutest thing watching their little minds grow, especially at the end of the year. We've been reviewing a lot for their STAAR test, and it’s amazing to see how they’re taking everything they’ve learned throughout the year and applying it to this one test. It’s just so cool to watch their minds work. It’s been such a fun experience, and it’s really confirmed for me that teaching is what I want to do. So yeah—it’s been great, and I’m loving it.

JOHN: Fantastic! You know, I’m not even quite sure anymore—what grades actually fall into middle school now? Does fourth grade count, or is that more like intermediate or still considered elementary?

ADRIANA: Fourth grade is considered intermediate now. The school I’m going to be working at in the future is third through fifth grade—that’s Groves Intermediate. Then middle school now is sixth through eighth grade.

JOHN: Okay, awesome. Yeah, I was going to say that that fourth through eighth grade time frame in a student's life, those are such formative years. You’re kind of figuring out right before high school, what are my likes, what are my dislikes, what are my interests? Where do I want to go from here, and I think that teachers, especially for those age ranges, are such an important thing.

ADRIANA: Oh yeah, they really need that support from someone outside of just their home. Sometimes, they don’t have that support outside of school, so their teachers become really important to them. That’s why I like to bond with them, get to know them, and learn what they enjoy doing and all of that. We’re important people in their lives.

JOHN: Yes—and it’s such an important job. Every time I have education majors on the podcast, I get excited because it’s a field we really need to support for the next generation. We’ve got to have our educators. It’s so, so important. So, is this part of the US PREP program? I’ve had them on before—the student mentoring. Is it a year-long residency?

ADRIANA: Oh, the residency.

JOHN: Or there's semester long, clinical teaching…

ADRIANA: Semester.

JOHN: Semester, okay, yeah. Awesome. Very nice. So, how's that? How's that experience been being a part of that program?

ADRIANA: It's been fun, and it's been busy. I've been really busy, but it's been great. I'm getting the experience I need and learning so much by being in the field, rather than just reading from books in class. Experiencing it firsthand is so different. You get to see a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that most people don't know about. For example, what teachers go through—they're constantly working, never getting a break. Their lunch isn't even really a lunch, and their conference period isn’t a true break either. They're always working. It was really interesting and eye-opening to see.

JOHN: Yeah, you make a good point. You learn a lot in the classroom, but that real-world experience—being a part of it and seeing things behind the scenes firsthand—is invaluable. So, you also work at Cracker Barrel. How has that been, balancing that with student teaching, being a student, and keeping up with your crochet business? When do you sleep?

ADRIANA: It's been okay. I got the job back in 2020 when COVID happened. I needed somewhere to go because my previous job was just me, so I needed somewhere with more support. I started working at Cracker Barrel during COVID and just stayed because my manager was very accommodating to my school schedule.

JOHN: That’s important.

ADRIANA: Yeah, it's been a journey.

JOHN: I feel like people don't always give enough credit to those types of jobs. I worked in the service industry for probably eight or nine years, doing everything from waiting tables to catering, and it really prepares you for so much. You learn how to manage different personalities, collaborate in teams, and handle time management—definitely all kinds of things. Patience, in particular, it helps you develop more patience, right?

ADRIANA: I've definitely noticed that in both my clinical teaching and my job at Cracker Barrel, I'm applying skills from both. Things like problem-solving and working together in groups—trying to figure all that out. The problem-solving part I’ve definitely applied because we deal with a lot of people.

JOHN: Oh yes. Lots of characters. It really prepares you for the future and makes you feel like, “I've got the people skills, and I've been around all types.” So, your sister graduated from ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø as a first-generation student, and now you're about to do the same. What has your drive been like? What's motivated you to push through, especially with it being an eight-year journey? What kept you saying, "I'm going to get this degree, I’m going to make this happen?” What was your motivation?

ADRIANA: It really prepares you for the future. I've gained people skills and have been around all types of people.

JOHN: So, your sister graduated from ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø as a first-generation student, and now you're about to do the same. What has your drive been like? What's motivated you to push through, especially with it being an eight-year journey? What kept you saying, "I'm going to get this degree, I’m going to make this happen"? What was your motivation?

ADRIANA: My parents are my inspiration.

JOHN: I love that. I think that's a great answer. You mentioned something else that I’d love to bring up. You told me you attended the Disney College Program in 2022. Yes, your exact words in your email were, "I miss it constantly. I talk about my experience every chance I get," so it only makes sense for us to bring it up. Let's hear more about that adventure.

ADRIANA: I loved it. It was so much fun—literally magical, as people say. I know that sounds cheesy, but it really was. You deal with all kinds of people over there, too—lots of angry guests, happy guests, sad guests, all of it. But it was amazing. I met incredible people from all over the U.S., and I'm still friends with them, as well as my roommates. I enjoyed it so much. It was very eye-opening, and I got to venture off to a whole other state by myself, not knowing a single person. It helped me grow a lot. Plus, getting into the parks for free was just an amazing bonus. I like the free part.

JOHN: Right. Sign me up. So how long were you over there?

ADRIANA: I was there for eight months. My program started in January of 2022, and it ended in the in very end of July, so about eight months.

JOHN: Awesome, yeah, like you said, that's a quick way to kind of grow up.

ADRIANA: Yeah, I learned quickly – a lot of money saving, like budgeting.

JOHN: Money management, yeah, you do learn quickly, right? Once you're on your own, you're like, "Okay, this is what saving is all about. I really have to watch my budget." Always important. We've got a few more minutes left, so let's chat a little more about your crochet business. Sarah Chavez put out a story, and I believe it’ll come out around the same time as this podcast. Very excited about that! She shared about your business and how she, I guess, stumbled upon it on Instagram. So, of course, I had to go look up your Instagram. You post some awesome stuff! I love the bucket hats you've been posting, and you even share how-to videos or videos of your process. So, let’s hear more about your business.

ADRIANA: I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to turn it into a business, to be honest. I was really nervous about it becoming a job—something I genuinely enjoyed and found comforting for myself. I didn’t want it to turn into something I ended up hating because I’d have to crochet for someone or feel obligated. But if anything, it taught me a lot more techniques and helped me learn new patterns. I’m much faster at it now—what used to take forever. It was just a small hobby that turned into something people liked. When I posted pictures of my stuff and projects, I’d get messages all the time asking, “Do you sell that?” or “Can you make me one? I’ll buy it.” It was just so strange to me that someone wanted to buy something I made. But I was still worried about turning it into a job, not wanting to ruin something I really enjoyed. In the end, it’s opened up a lot more doors, though. I mean, I’m on this podcast.

JOHN: Well, you bring up a good point. You never want something you're passionate about to feel like work, you know? But on the flip side, like you just mentioned, you're learning new techniques, you're working more, and producing more work, which just adds to the skills you’ve already got. You know, I feel like—do you know there’s a Crochet and Knit Club on campus? Are you part of it?

ADRIANA: No, I didn’t.

JOHN: You should 1,000% be a part of that!

ADRIANA: I heard about it when I did my story with Sara. That was the first time I ever heard about it. I had no idea it existed!

JOHN: I had a guest, a student, on the podcast, and she mentioned it. She said she was one of the founding members or the president—I can't remember exactly what her title was—but I thought, that’s really cool.

ADRIANA: Never knew that existed, no. Yeah.

JOHN: So we’re going to have to find that for you so you can join.

ADRIANA: Before I graduate.

JOHN: Right? Adriana, thank you so much for joining me today on the ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø Moment to share your story with our listeners. Let’s share one last time—well, I don’t think we’ve done this yet—but let’s share with the listeners how they can keep up with your crochet business and support your work.

ADRIANA: You can follow me on Instagram. My business is called hooked.byadrianaw, and that's where you'll see all my pictures and where you can order something.

JOHN: So y’all go give her a follow if you’re on Instagram and check out the amazing work. I did it myself, and it’s definitely worth looking at. I might actually be hiring you soon to do a couple! As we wrap up another episode, please make sure to search ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø Moment wherever you get your podcasts to keep up with the events, activities, programs, and people right here at ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø. Don’t forget to follow us on our socials at the username ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø, so you can see for yourself all the great things happening right here at ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏÍø. This is John Rollins, your host. Thank you for listening, and we’ll talk to you next time!