“Education was instilled in my framework at an early age,” says Spencer Childs, Senior Director of Concurrent Enrollment.

Born and raised in Utah Valley, Spencer came from a family of educators where he learned the importance of education early on.

Spencer attended Utah Valley State College (UVSC) and received a two-year business degree. While there, he had the opportunity to meet new professors and learn how to love school and the opportunity to learn. Of his experience at UVSC, he said, it “changed my perspective of what I could do and what I could become.”

After receiving his two-year business degree, Spencer transferred to Brigham Young University where he received a Bachelor of American Studies, before going on to look for careers in his chosen field. Originally beginning his search in the business field, he eventually shifted his plans and ended up applying for and accepting a job at the College of Eastern Utah as a recruiter. As a college recruiter, he gained experience traveling the state as a college representative and sharing all that higher education has to offer.

A year later, Spencer decided to return to UVSC and began in, what was at the time, a very tiny program known as Concurrent Enrollment as an Enrollment Manager. He helped bring the all-paper process online, but his main tasks were to “train, mentor, prepare, and learn.”

Ten years later, he left his position in what had become Utah Valley University’s (UVU) Concurrent Enrollment and joined UVU Admissions as an Associate Director for Perspective Student Services. While in that position, Spencer had the opportunity to oversee the Admission’s Counselors, the Ambassador program at UVU, as well as several successful marketing initiatives.  

After five years, the call to Concurrent Enrollment was too strong, and he returned – this time as the Senior Director, where he has been for the last three years. “It’s become a passion, more than just a job,” Spencer explains. While Concurrent Enrollment provides amazing opportunities for getting ahead in school and saving money, for Spencer, it’s more than that – it is an opportunity to make a real difference in student’s lives.

When asked why Concurrent Enrollment is such an important program and department, Spencer said that it gives students the opportunity to be challenged and prove to themselves that they are capable of more than they may think.

In the end, he said one of the most important things you can do is “be a lifelong learner. Education is something that never gets old.”

Wise words to take to heart from this former and current Wolverine.