Kelley Wick, an incoming graduate student in developmental and learning sciences, describes her 16-year journey to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as one of resilience and strength.

A California native, Wick had never left her home state before this August. But, after being accepted into Nebraska’s College of Education and Human Sciences master's program, she packed her bags without hesitation — driving 2,200 miles for five days to arrive in Lincoln for the fall semester.

Wick has had a lot more to overcome than just geographic distance. As the first in her family to go to college after a 10-year break from school, she received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Sacramento this past May at 34 years old.

By sharing her story, Wick hopes to encourage other students at Nebraska to persevere through their own personal challenges, as well as understand the strengths that come from being a nontraditional student.

Explaining that she didn’t always feel empowered to get a college education, Wick references a moment when she was 18, sitting in her high school guidance counselor’s office to discuss the future. The advice she was given in that meeting stuck with her for most of her life.

“My counselor told me that, you know, not everyone is cracked up to go to college, maybe you should pursue other things and maybe you’re not quite college material,” Wick said. “I really took that to heart for a long time.”

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Later down the line, Wick would feel the urge to prove that counselor wrong. But at the time, with no family members or people in her life with the resources to guide her in the other direction, she felt lost.

After taking community college courses for several years and struggling to find something she was passionate about, Wick decided to leave school completely to work full-time.

“I had it in my head that maybe college wasn’t for me. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing,” Wick said. “I just kind of resigned myself to the life I was living.”

A sudden, tragic loss in Wick’s personal life further prevented her from wanting to go back to school. Eventually, it also served as her greatest motivation.

“In that 10 years, my brother passed away. It’s been seven years now, and one of the main reasons I went back to school is that he really encouraged me. He said, ‘You should be doing something more than this. Go help people, go do something.’ So that was something that was always in the back of my mind. All of that culminated in me changing my life, moving to Sacramento, going to school and finally getting my bachelor’s,” Wick said.

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Along with her brother, Wick credits a number of people in her life for helping her get back on track. Her parents moved to Sacramento, allowing her to live rent-free in their home and attend classes. An adviser at her university also pushed her to consider graduate school as a serious option. When she was forming her personal statement, Wick said, that adviser was there to edit it nearly 17 times.

Wick says she picked Nebraska for her next adventure because she found that same kind of continued, personal support at the College of Education and Human Sciences. Though planning a move across the country was stressful, she was able to stay in touch with nearly every faculty, staff and advising member of her department as she made the transition.

"The people in the educational psychology department have been so amazing at helping me navigate this. I told them that I couldn't come here unless I was funded, and they worked it out for me," Wick said. "They've really built this community around me. I feel really at home here, because I feel like people really care and they really want to help me be successful."

As she teaches an undergraduate psychology class this fall, Wick is excited to pass along the mantra that got her to where she is today — never give up.

“I’ve had a really winding path to get here, and it took a lot of perseverance and a lot of resilience to overcome a lot of stuff that prevented me from going back to school. Just keep going. Surround yourself with people who want you to succeed. I would have been nowhere without the people that helped me get here.”