STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

Chelsea Waldron (center) and her family (from left), father Gene Waldron, sister Jessica, brother Levi, mother Vickie Waldron and brother Jon, now live with their grandmother. Chelsea plans to attend Jefferson College of Health Sciences and has earned several scholarships to help her pay for it. Chelsea is also her sister's maid of honor and is helping to organize a bridal shower.

STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

Chelsea Waldron and her father, Gene Waldron, hang some of her prom pictures last month in her new bedroom in her grandmother's house. The family moved into the grandmother's house in Salem after Waldron was laid off. Chelsea is graduating today from Glenvar High School.

JARED SOARES The Roanoke Times

Chelsea Waldron (right) works on an assignment for her anatomy class last month with Casey Martin (center) and teacher Jennifer Crozier. Instead of coasting through her senior year, Chelsea signed up for tough classes.

This is a pretty confusing moment if you're a high school senior, getting ready to leave the nest and head to college, with its new responsibilities, exciting opportunities and potential pitfalls.

If you're Chelsea Waldron, it's downright vertiginous.

Waldron, one of 164 seniors graduating from Roanoke County's Glenvar High School today, has been busy wrapping up her classes, applying for college scholarships, and working 30 hours a week to earn money for her bachelor's degree in nursing at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences.

Oh, and she's organizing her sister's bridal shower, too (she's the maid of honor).

And that's before the national economic whirlwinds swept through her family's cozy life. Chelsea's father, Gene Waldron, was recently informed he would be laid off from the truck-driving job he has held for 16 years. Within a week the family had put its house up for sale and moved in with her father's mother. Chelsea and her family have spent the past few weeks painting walls, hanging pictures and unpacking boxes.

"Senior year is supposed to be the easiest year, but it has honestly been my hardest year of high school," said Chelsea, 18.

She signed up for tough classes, held down a nearly-full-time job and applied for roughly 30 scholarships. So far, five have come through, earning her $2,900 for college.

"I never expected to get five scholarships. I never expected to get awards. It's nice to have that. It's nice to be recognized," she said. "I'm just an ordinary student. I'm not valedictorian. I'm not athletic."

Perhaps, but she took anatomy during her last semester in high school, dissecting a cat while some of her classmates were taking it easy.

"She works really hard," anatomy teacher Jennifer Crozier said. "She's very conscientious, always gets her work in on time."

Despite the upheavals in her family, "she just stayed focused on her goals here at school, makes good grades and does it the right way," Glenvar Principal Joe Hafey said.

Waldron plans to live in a dorm near the Jefferson College campus next year, as she embarks on her college career. The goal, for now, is to earn a bachelor's degree in nursing, then a master's degree.

"I went to the Dominican Republic my freshman year with my church. Through that I have really learned that I want to help people," she said. "I just fell in love with it, and I think that's what I want to do."

Has she thought about going on to medical school? "I have to get through the six years first."

Her parents, not surprisingly, are bursting with pride. Not just for Chelsea, but for her sister and two brothers as well.

"All these kids have been on A/B honor roll," said her mother, Vickie Waldron. "We haven't had an issue with anything."

So what's her secret? "Keep the lines of communication open," she said.

Even during the tough times, such as a job loss, which Chelsea described as "a shocker to all of us."

"It's just something that's unexpected," said Gene Waldron. "I guess there are a lot of people going through it."

"We're real fortunate," he added, sitting in the freshly painted living room of his mother's house. "Mom's been really great. She just told us, 'Move on in.' "

It's unlikely Chelsea's family will be able to pay for much of her higher education. She'll rely on her scholarships and loans.

"I'm an adult now, I guess," she said.