In the midst of the financial crisis of 2009, I found myself 8 months pregnant, laid off from a company that wasn’t interested in paying my maternity leave, with family and living outside of Utah, and unable to provide financial support. My boyfriend (who later became my husband), was suddenly put in a situation where he was our main breadwinner. Consequently, we didn’t have much to our name. Our lives were suddenly thrown into uncertainty, but we knew we wanted more for our child — so something needed to change.

Originally, my dream in high school was to play college soccer. But when I was 17, I was a headstrong adolescent and wasn’t compliant with the strict religious lifestyle my parents dictated for their home and children. As a result, they placed me in a residential treatment center in the hopes that I would learn to adhere to the rules they set out. Though they only wanted the best for me, this was a traumatic time that rocked my confidence levels. Despite this challenge early on in life, I was still able to graduate high school early. Wishing to be independent, I dreamt of the day I could open the birdcage and be on my own — so when I turned 18, that’s exactly what I did.

By the time I turned 25 and discovered I was about to have a baby, I still hadn’t enrolled in college and had no solid education or career. I had dabbled in many trades such as dental assisting and cosmetology school and had some significant successes in hospitality management as well. But nothing I tried gave me a solid foundation filled with passion and security. This was when I decided to enroll at UVU.

During my first few classes, I had constant thoughts of “Am I good enough to be here? Am I smart enough for college? Can I do this with a baby? How will I take care of him and go to school?” I felt so behind other students. I was having to relearn my times tables in the math courses. I was practically living in the tutoring center. Talk about a swift dose of humility! Despite still not having the full confidence in myself from my previous life experiences, I pushed through so that I could be the best woman and mom I could be. On this hard journey, I was lucky to receive help from professors, day care teachers, tutors, and others at UVU. Learning didn’t come naturally to me, but I had to find that inner strength to persevere. I remember writing “I can do this” on the top of all of my tests and, sure enough, as each test and obstacle was presented I found I could, in fact, do this. I was smart enough, tough enough, and persistent enough to pave the way to a better life for my family.

UVU being an open-enrollment school helped my circumstances immensely because it didn’t matter my age, demographic, or experience. UVU is accepting of all students wishing to learn. It’s an exceptional school that offers a top-grade education that helps its students obtain jobs in the fields of their study. I am proud to see that UVU continues to excel in helping its students more and more each year. Without the education and help I received at UVU, I couldn’t proudly say that I was able to complete my bachelor’s in three years with a major in psychology and a minor in criminal justice while maintaining high honors and being awarded magna cum laude upon graduation.

I now have three beautiful children. I am married to the love of my life, and I get to do amazing work in the mental health field with children in residential treatment centers — much like the one that I attended when I was a teen. Though I still love soccer, my dream has evolved to someday run my own mental health facility that helps to boost the confidence levels of future generations. Without the UVU community, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wish to help cultivate and give back to my community.