My name is David Warr. I was born and raised in Utah alongside my older sister, Sara, and younger brother, James. Growing up, I was the culprit behind much of the teasing in our home. I owe a lot to my family for putting up with me. When I was 3 years old, I met my friend Hunter. We are duplicates of each other, and we jokingly say that we raised one another because of how similar we are. As children, we ran lemonade stands until his dad told us that it was illegal to resell the lemons that we purchased from the store. He encouraged us to “Do some real work.” That conversation led us to start our own landscaping business when we were 11 years old. For several years, we mowed lawns after school and learned to value hard work.

I have always liked to be busy and engaged in a variety of activities. As a child, my two main hobbies were sports and music. I gleaned my love of sports from my father. He taught me how to play sports and encouraged me to use sports as a positive outlet. My mom introduced me to my love of music. She graduated from the University of Utah in vocal performance and taught voice lessons in our house. It felt as if I lived in a real-life version of “The Sound of Music.” My mom and I performed in a few musicals together. She supported me in my desire to learn the guitar and instilled in me a passion for music. That passion stayed with me as I formed a band with my friends in high school. We practiced every day after school and composed two original albums.

Music also played a prominent role in my journey to Utah Valley University. While in my high school's choir, I heard about the Sterling Scholar program, and I applied to be the Sterling Scholar of Vocal Performance. I had good grades and worked hard in school, so I thought it would be worth a shot. To my surprise, I was selected and went on to the regional level. As a Sterling Scholar, I was offered a scholarship to UVU. I didn't know much about UVU, and I started to research the school. Around that same time, one of my good friends told me about the UVU Ambassador Program. I had been involved in student government in high school, and I heard that it was somewhat similar. The first time I set foot on campus was to attend a two-day interview for the Ambassador Program. As I met the current ambassadors, walked around the campus, and interacted with other prospective students, I knew that UVU was the right place for me.

After deciding to attend UVU, I was called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bolivia. I left for my mission the summer after I graduated from high school. While on my mission, I came to love the people of South America and discovered my passion for service.

Less than one week after returning home from my mission, I started at UVU. It was a rough transition, but my involvement in the Ambassador Program and other groups helped me make friends and find my place at UVU.

I served as a UVU ambassador for three years. I was a recruitment ambassador in my first year, visiting several high schools and leading campus tours to recruit students. In my final two years in the program, I was a project leader in charge of two minority leadership conferences held at UVU. The first conference was a diversity and leadership summit where we ran workshops that taught incoming students how to prepare for college and apply to different leadership groups. The other event was a first-generation conference geared at helping students whose parents didn't go to college understand the process of applying to college and receiving financial aid.

Outside of the Ambassador Program, I was part of the Utah Valley Institute Council. I oversaw the welcoming committee, ensuring that newcomers were comfortable and felt included.

During my first few years of school, several friends told me about UVU's Presidential Internship Program. They had participated in the program and shared with me the fantastic experiences they had while working with the president’s cabinet. Before beginning my senior year, I applied to the program and was selected by President Astrid S. Tuminez to be her intern. The Presidential Internship was one of the most rewarding experiences I had during my time at UVU. I had the privilege of helping President Tuminez with various research and writing projects, including the Wolverine Stories Initiative. I was able to interview many UVU students and share their stories with the student body. Hearing their impressive accomplishments raised my ambitions. President Tuminez taught me powerful lessons that have helped me refine my future goals and set my sights high.

One difficult decision that I made after my first year of school was to move home to live with my parents. At first, it seemed illogical as it added about 45 minutes to my commute. However, I felt that it was the right thing to do. Not long after moving home, I became reacquainted with my future wife, Abi. We went to elementary through high school together, and I immediately knew that she was the girl for me. We got married in July 2019. I am so grateful to have her in my life. I believe that it is good to surround ourselves with people who build us up. Abi is one of those people for me. We welcomed our first child this past spring. She is such a blessing in our lives, and we are loving parenthood.

I graduated from UVU in 2021 with my bachelor’s in biology and applied to dental school in July. I will be working as a dental assistant for the next year before attending dental school in 2022.

I am grateful for my professors, mentors, and friends. I have made it this far because of my experiences at UVU and the relationships built along the way. I am also very grateful to President Tuminez for allowing me to be her intern this past year. I've found that when you are at a crossroads in life, it’s best to follow your heart and do what makes you happy. People waste a lot of time focusing on things that don’t make them truly happy, but we can thrive if we stay true to our core selves. My time spent at UVU helped me identify the things that are important to me and gave me the courage to pursue my dreams.