I was raised in Idaho on a dairy farm. I loved everything about it. Growing up I always knew that I wanted to go to college. There were seven kids in my family, and I was just finishing my freshman year of high school when my family moved to Utah. The transition was hard at first, but it was a good learning experience for me. Upon graduating from high school, I went straight to work in an effort to save money for my dream of getting a degree.

During that time, I met my husband and we were married. He was on an athletic scholarship, which limited employment during the school year, so I continued working to put him through school. I always figured that my time would come. After starting our family, we moved to Las Vegas and the dream of going to college was still in the back of my mind. I enrolled at a university in the area and was going to start my first semester. On the morning that classes were supposed to start, I miscarried our third child. I had two previous miscarriages before starting our family, but this one was particularly difficult emotionally. I decided to put a hold on my education again.

My husband’s job then took us to Washington. By this time, we had three beautiful children and I felt confident that I could go back to school. Not long into my second semester, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and it was all hands on deck to take care of him, the children, and finish that semester. Everything seemed to be under control, so I continued on with my next semester of college when disaster struck once again. My husband was diagnosed with a second cancer unrelated to the first.

The medical bills were piling up fast, and I found myself putting school on hold once more to go back to work. After a while, my husband’s cancer seemed to be at bay and everything seemed to be going well. We made permanent residence in Utah and built our home. My husband encouraged me to finally finish my dream of getting a degree. When deciding on a university to attend in Utah, I remembered when I had first visited the UVU (then UVSC) campus many years prior. I had a friend whose father was the dean of the business school, and I could easily recall the friendly environment of the university, and I loved the layout of the campus. It felt like home the first day I walked through the doors of UVU. There was a special community feel to the university, and I knew that I could be successful there which is why I chose to pursue my degree as a Wolverine.

 

In my second semester at UVU, my life was changed forever. My husband was murdered at work when a disgruntled former employee opened fire at the office, and he put himself in the line of fire to protect his fellow coworkers. I withdrew from all my classes and decided to just focus on my kids for a while. Despite the heartache and sadness I was feeling, I remembered how much my husband wanted me to finish my degree — he was always encouraging me to never give up on my dream. Structuring my classes around my children, I went back to school part time after my youngest child started the first grade. They were my biggest cheerleaders.

My professors were very understanding of my situation and were always so supportive. Specifically, I remember a math 1010 class that I took. I told myself that I was not good enough to get through the class and that I would not graduate. With tears in my eyes I walked to my car, followed by our teacher’s aide for that semester. She quietly listened as I told her that I would fail the class, and that I felt I wasn’t smart enough to understand the content. Math was my big academic fear. She responded by telling me that I was smart enough and we would get through the class together. Both the teacher’s aide and the professor regularly helped me study, and I found success at the end of that semester. I even survived 1050! My story is filled with similar experiences of UVU faculty and staff dedicating their time, resources, and energy to help me succeed.

Along my educational journey there were plenty of hardships. On top of everything that had already happened, I had to change my major unexpectedly and we had some difficult family health complications. Despite all of the years, time, effort, heartache, and trials, I walked down the Hall of Flags and received my diploma, knowing that my children were, and my husband would have been, so proud of me.

One of the biggest takeaways I had from my time at UVU was the fact that I was able to meet students and professors from all over the world. Some had fled from political uprisings, abusive situations, bullying, terrorism, change in home situations, differing viewpoints, personal struggles, and much more. I met and spoke with so many amazing students, and I realized that we have a lot more in common than we initially understand. The rich diversity at UVU created an environment that enriched my learning experience.