UW Grad 2023

I feel like I've been having a lot of "how can this be real?!"moments lately.  I think Jordan graduating from college may top that list!  I mean, she was AT MY college graduation!  

Looking back over these last 4 years, 

I am amazed that Jordan was able to graduate at all...let alone on time! I am so proud of her.

She started off at BYUH:

Almost as soon as she started, Jordan knew BYUH wasn't for her.  I remember many calls in tears, and just wanting to fly her home.  She powered through...until a pandemic called her home a month before the end of the school year.

She came home because of a pandemic:

Although Jordan was happy to come home, a pandemic is hardly an ideal situation.  It meant isolation from her friends (luckily Phoebe moved in with us when her housing closed down), finishing her classes remotely, not to mention the emotional turmoil of not knowing what was happening to the world.

She transferred to Cascadia College:

Knowing that she didn't want to go back to Hawaii (and Hawaii being closed to non residents), Jordan decided transferring to Cascadia and applying to UW would be her best option.  Attempting to transfer classes from BYUH was a disaster.  Jordan figured it all out, sometimes having to take double the amount of classes to fill the requirements.  She managed to complete her associates degree in business December 2021 all while working basically full-time as a nanny and completing her application for The University of Washington.

Applied and got accepted to UW:

In January 2021 Jordan started at The University of Washington.  Most of her classes were online, but a few professors were starting in-person classes again.  Commuting to and parking in Seattle was a bit of a nightmare.  Jordan had to leave her job as a nanny (which she loved) and move to Seattle.

Moved to Seattle:

Jordan found a house in Seattle in the U-district.  The amount of money she had to pay for a tiny room in the basement of a house shared with 8 other girls was ridiculous ($800 plus utilities!!!) She actually did amazing to pay for a lot of her school, all her housing, and buy a car all during the pandemic. After moving to Seattle, she found herself a job at Aritzia (at University Village).

I am exhausted just writing about these past few years of hers!  But she did it.  She got through so much hard and reached her goal.  I couldn't be prouder.  As I sat on the wet stadium seats and looked across the misty Husky Stadium, tears welled up in my eyes.  Jordan could have quit so many times and nobody would have blamed her.  But she didn't.  She persevered!  

I hope she knows how strong she is and how proud we are of her:)