Professional:

Vanessa is currently working on her Bachelor's of Psychology at Utah Tech University (formerly known as DSU) and as far as certifications go, she is certified in QPR suicide prevention and just recently received a certification for WhyTry so that counts for something right? Luckily, she's supposed to get more trainings and certifications through this job so she's excited for that. 

Hobbies:​​

• Being from St. George I LOVE the outdoors. Unfortunately, I completely despise the heat. That being said, I enjoy hiking during the autumn and spring, and love all snow sports. I try my hardest to explore as many new places as possible, So traveling is a must.
• Year long activities include walking my dog, and engaging with my life long love for art, theater and Minecraft. 
• Besides deeply obsessing over pretty sights and new atmospheres, I am also a homebody, I have a huge appreciation for the days I get to stay in to snuggle with my dog.

Personal:

I was born and raised in St. George, Utah. Consequently, I am very fond of my community. I am the youngest of 2 kids, my brother being 6 years older than I am. I have a chiweenie (a cross between a Chihuahua and a Weiner dog) names Coco. While I was in school, I tried as many extracurriculars as possible. As a result, I was involved in art, theater, debate, the Washington County Youth Coalition, and Hope Squad. I am currently majoring in Radiology at Utah Tech University. 

Why I chose prevention:

I believe in leaving things better than how you found them , this extends to people and places. I saw a need to my community for prevention and decided to take action. Having welcoming advisors and mentors only made it easier to stay. On top of this, personally seeing the impact that our work is making not only in numbers, but with the feedback of people themselves, makes the effort more than worth it.