My journey to UVU was not like the light guided path to an exit on an airplane, but rather one with twists, turns, bumps, and no road signs. Growing up, teachers always asked me what I wanted to be when I was older; my answer never changed, I always said “I want to be a lawyer!” I am not sure at which point I decided this career path, but for some reason I consistently found myself on it and I never considered anything else until I began studying at UVU.

During my senior year of high school I was under immense stress. Neither of my parents had obtained advanced degrees, which made getting help applying to colleges difficult. I am the oldest child in my family so my parents and I had to figure out how to navigate the college waters without much guidance. When I started being accepted to schools, I only felt stress where I should’ve felt excitement. 

That same year, my grandfather was diagnosed with leukemia. I was extremely close with him and the uncertainty of his health took a heavy toll on my family. After application deadlines had come and gone for most schools, I was still so lost. I didn’t know how I could afford living away from home on top of paying tuition. Additionally, some schools that I had been accepted to were too far to even consider commuting. 

My parents came up with the solution to all my problems when they convinced me to apply to UVU. The cost of tuition was manageable for me if I kept working part time and I decided to live at home and commute 40 minutes to school for my classes. One of the biggest reasons I chose UVU was because it allowed me to be close to my grandfather during the last year of his life. If UVU was not open enrollment and did not have rolling deadlines it would not have been possible for me to attend.

I was able to find financial assistance through the Honors Program and other scholarships at UVU. I still worked at least part-time, consistently going to bed at 3 a.m. and waking up at 8 a.m. for work and school.

When I completed my Honors Thesis and graduated Summa Cum Laude I knew I could get into law school. Before UVU, law school felt like a distant dream or just a long term goal. However, professors, advisors, and the environment of equality and engagement at UVU brought that dream into focus - and within reach. At UVU I never felt like just another number of the thousands of students enrolled or just a name on an attendance sheet. From the beginning to the end of my journey, I was not just taught, I was mentored. I would never trade my experience at UVU for anything and without it, I wouldn’t be preparing to start law school in August.