“Concurrent Enrollment is by far the most fun and the best place to land. I feel very lucky I have gotten to land here. It is the best place to be,” says Sandra Ozuna, Enrollment Counselor for Utah Valley University’s Concurrent Enrollment department.

Sandra was born and raised in American Fork, Utah. After graduating from American Fork High School, Sandra briefly attended Utah Valley Community College (UVCC) before marrying her high school sweetheart, who grew up in Pleasant Grove. Though their high schools were rivals, they found love with one another and built a beautiful life together.

After getting married, Sandra returned to school at Steven-Henager College and received her associate degree in general education. After receiving her associate degree, she and her husband decided to grow their family and had three children. Once married, they briefly relocated to Orange County, California before deciding they wanted to be closer to family and moving back to American Fork. Sandra’s husband was a great entrepreneur, and she decided to go back to work so he could move forward with his plans and support their family at the same time. She returned to UVCC, this time as an employee, to work in human resources part-time, which she worked hard at until a full-time opportunity in Admissions was presented to her. She took it and worked there for about five years.

While working in Admissions, her husband’s construction and landscaping business took off, and Sandra chose to be a stay-at-home mother for five years until returning once again to UVCC, which had then become Utah Valley State College (UVSC) and taking a part-time position as an Administrative Assistant in the Elementary Education department. She again pulled out her excellent work ethic and did her job well until another full-time opportunity presented itself in the Technology Management program at the College of Engineering and Technology. Sandra was an Administrative Assistant for a few years before transitioning to the Administrative Assistant position in the Construction Management program. While in that position, UVSC became Utah Valley University (UVU), and Sandra became a full-blown Wolverine.

In 2013, Sandra was diagnosed with cancer. During this battle, she left UVU and underwent two years of surgeries and treatments. Now, ten years later, Sandra has been declared completely cancer-free!

After her two years of battling cancer, Sandra felt extremely lucky and blessed and decided it was time to go back to work and find herself once again. “I went back to what was comfortable: UVU!” She was hired here at Concurrent Enrollment as an Enrollment Counselor and has been here ever since. Of this opportunity, she said, “I feel so lucky! I was so fortunate; I knew I was where I was supposed to be.”

Since beginning at Concurrent Enrollment, Sandra has had the unique opportunity of watching the department grow and develop immensely. When she first began, only about 6,000 students were enrolled, compared to the almost 16,000 now. Sandra’s primary responsibilities as an Enrollment Counselor are to work with the high schools in preparing their Concurrent Enrollment classes, help students work through registration and admission issues, and help with anything to do with enrollment or registering for classes.

A couple of years ago, tragedy struck Sandra’s family, and her husband sadly passed away. He and Sandra built a beautiful family and life together with three children and nine grandchildren, and a home in American Fork where they raised all their children and where Sandra continues to live with one of her daughters and four of her grandchildren. Her family is everything to her. When asked what drives her, she said, “I get up in the morning because of my grandkids and because of my kids. I love being a nana, and I love being a mom. It is such an honor to be their mom and their nana.” 

Sandra’s ambition for her life has not stopped, while working full-time and continuing to take care of her family, she is currently working to obtain her bachelor’s degree in family studies. Education is important to Sandra, which is why she is working so hard on hers and why she encourages students to take Concurrent Enrollment classes while they are in high school. “Every single student in a high school can do a Concurrent Enrollment credit. I know the students can be successful,” Sandra said.

Not only did Sandra rave about what she has been able to do for her work and about UVU in general, she also spoke of all her great coworkers and the wonderful high school coordinators. She said she considers them all her personal friends and that, “our program isn’t what it is without them.”

We are so happy and grateful Sandra has been and continues to be a lifelong Wolverine with green running through her veins because Concurrent Enrollment would not be what it is without her!