The UVU You Don't See On the News

What saddens me almost as much as the event itself is knowing that, for a long time, the only thing people will see when they type “Utah Valley University” into Google is the tragedy that just happened.

But UVU is so much more than a headline. It’s an incredibly amazing school — a place that has given me more support than anywhere else I’ve studied. The professors here are incredible: always willing to help, always accessible. I’ve even been able to ask professors who don’t teach my classes for help, and they’ve taken the time. That kind of culture is rare.

UVU is the best place I know for nontraditional students. They started as a community college and, even after upgrading to university status, they kept that same structure of accessibility and support. Education here is truly built to meet students where they are. And with so many different programs, there’s a pathway for almost every career you could imagine.

The support network is unmatched: academic coaching, learning strategists, the Math Lab, and even direct access to someone in the Dean of Students’ office. I’ve worked closely with faculty who didn’t just care about my grades but about me as a whole person. The Assistant Math Department Chair — who also happens to be the mother of someone I grew up with — has been phenomenal. UVU is also one of the very few schools in Utah that offers Statistics as its own major rather than just a math emphasis, and they even have an Actuarial Science concentration — something not even USF offered when I looked there.

Working in Dr. Kidd’s statistics lab has given me a chance to build my resume and connect with the professional world in ways I never imagined. These opportunities show how far UVU has come. Gone are the days when it was mainly seen as a springboard to transfer somewhere else. UVU stands as an amazing institution in its own right, and I’m sad that right now the outside world won’t see that side of it.

The UVU I know isn’t just the place that made the news. It’s a place where professors open their doors, where nontraditional students thrive, where opportunity is everywhere if you reach for it. That’s the UVU I carry with me — and it’s the story worth telling.