As told by Seth Harper
I want my students and coworkers to believe in themselves, and even though something may be difficult, work hard. Hard work pays off.
Photo by August Miller
Back in 1999, I had been married about five years and decided to go to school. School was something that was always difficult for me. I didn't do very well in high school and especially struggled in math. So, it surprised my family members that I was going to college. My husband is a big reason I am going; he believed in me, and he's like, “Decide what certificate you want.” So, we decided to do an accounting certificate. I did really well with the accounting classes, so he's like, “You're halfway to associate.” So, then I went on and did my associate, and then my husband's like, “Well, you're halfway to a bachelor's.”
I really struggled at math and took it multiple times. I was at the point that I was just gonna give up. I was like, “Okay, college isn't for me,” and my husband's like, “You can do this.” He believed in me.
I actually had a teacher, Mr. Jesperson — he saw the hours that I would study, and I would just really struggle in his class. He invited my husband and I to come meet with him and his wife at his house. And he's like, “Have you ever thought of getting learning disability testing?” And I'm like, “I never thought of that.” We ended up finding a psychologist at BYU, and I realized that I had a math disability.
Being an academic advisor, many students that have to end up working with disabilities, they get out of doing math, sometimes by doing a different class. I could have gone that route, but I just had this strong impression that I needed to do it for myself to prove to myself that I could do something that was really hard. I worked really hard with Casey Lee. He tutored me, and I actually passed the class.
Back in 2008, 2009, I started having seizures, and they couldn't figure out what was wrong. It wasn't epilepsy, as far as they can tell. We still don't know what caused it. After the seizures, I would lose memories and I would forget how to do things. I forget seeing some movies, which my kids thought was fun because we'd see new movies again. The interesting thing is my personality changed, but my perseverance didn't.
Six years ago was my last seizure, and that was due to a car wreck that I was in. That seizure actually made it so I couldn’t use my left hand. I was worried about telling my husband because I didn't want him to stress about us because we needed to both work. I didn't tell work, so it was really hard. The most difficult thing for me was not being able to play the piano, because music is very much a part of me. Through much prayer and practice, I was able to get that ability to come back. If I had somebody say, no, you can't do that, it would make me say, “Oh, yeah, I can work all the harder.” So I want my students and coworkers to believe in themselves, and even though something may be difficult, work hard. Hard work pays off.
I had worked in several different jobs in the finance industry, and in 2008, we had that big layoff. I had my youngest, so that was hard. I was able to get a job at Intermountain Healthcare, arguing with insurance companies. I felt like my degree didn’t work, and I wasn’t happy with the job. Then, in 2014, I was so blessed and lucky to get a job in financial aid. I feel like all these jobs that I did led me to be an advisor. I have my dream job. I love seeing that look in students’ eyes when I see what they want to be and when they get the “A-ha!” moment. It’s very important to me to help students discover their potential.
I’ve loved dinosaurs since I was really little. They’re just something that’s always fascinated me. There was a TV series back in the ‘70s called “Land of the Lost.” The theme of my office: I want students to not feel lost. I have some pictures in my office to let my students know that they can do hard things.
I ended up signing up for a Master of Education with an emphasis in higher education leadership here at UVU, and I'm currently in my second semester. And it has been the most difficult and most rewarding thing I've ever done. I just would pour hours and hours of studying after work. So, I'd spend hours, sometimes to one or two in the morning, then get up and come to work.
It's important for us to have a positive attitude. What you think you say, what you say you do, what you do on a continual basis, becomes a habit. Habits create your character; your character determines your destiny.
Links:
UVU Master of Education program
April Kirk directory page
UVU Academic Advisors
