“Don’t limit yourself, and make sure to give yourself all of the available opportunities.” These are wise words from Lucy Watson, the Engagement Manager for Utah Valley University’s (UVU) Concurrent Enrollment Department, that she has followed throughout her life.

Lucy was raised Iowa, and while in high school, Lucy took some of the concurrent enrollment classes offered. Following high school graduation, Lucy was admitted to Iowa State, but didn’t feel like it was the right path for. She decided to move to Provo, Utah and attend cosmetology school.

After graduating from the Avada Institute in the fall of 2016, Lucy felt there was even more for her to accomplish. She decided to begin at UVU in 2017 as a digital marketing major but soon changed her path to public relations. While attending school, Lucy had many involvement opportunities. She started as a math mentor and quickly became a team lead. This led to an opportunity to become a department representative with the Academic Senate branch.

These positions helped Lucy develop leadership and team skills and create connections with many people, opening up the opportunity for her to run for the Vice President of Academics on UVUSA. After going through the whole election process, Lucy was elected for her senior year, 2020-2021.

Very soon after the results were announced, the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. There was a lot of uncertainty regarding the whole year, but this gave Lucy the chance to navigate student involvement and student activity and be a voice for the student body in a unique and unheard-of way. She was able to attend Faculty Senate, Academic Affairs Counsel, and other key meetings that allowed her to network in a new way.

Following her graduation, Lucy knew she didn’t want to work in a PR firm and that she enjoyed being involved in higher education due to the time she spent as the VP of Academics. She began to apply for any jobs available at UVU and accepted a job at the First-Year Advising Center as the Supervisor of Advising Services in the summer of 2021. In this position, Lucy’s responsibilities centered around managing peer advisors and student employees. Through this job she learned more than she ever thought she would have about working with students, being a good supervisor and manager, and being professional and presenting herself as such.

After working in the First Year Advising Center for about two years, Lucy accepted her current position as the Engagement Manager in UVU’s Concurrent Enrollment. In this position, Lucy oversees the engagement team, which handles all things design, social media platforms, and swag to contribute to “the overall look and feel of Concurrent Enrollment.” She is also responsible for outreach, recruitment, and retention and looking for ways to maintain or improve relations between Concurrent Enrollment and other groups, both in and out of UVU.

Education is a big part of Lucy’s life, and she continued to further her own by working to receive her master's degree in education with an emphasis on higher education leadership from UVU. She just graduated this May.

She explains, “I think the great thing about education is that it is not going anywhere, it will always be available, and it can be taken advantage of anytime.” This is one of the reasons Lucy is passionate about Concurrent Enrollment and encouraging students to begin their college education while still in high school, as it’s something that can help bring success to your life as soon as you receive it.

Of Concurrent Enrollment, Lucy says, “It’s a great way to start exploring your options and find out what the right path for you is.”

“Don’t limit yourself, and make sure to give yourself all of the available opportunities.” Lucy has implemented this mindset in her life, and we are grateful she is and continues to be a Wolverine here at Concurrent Enrollment to encourage all those around her to do the same.