Deysharee Lopez Found Her Passion in Education

After moving stateside, Deysharee began working as an instructional aide and found a career in education was worth exploring. With a newfound passion, she felt confident she wanted to become a licensed teaching professional and finish her bachelor’s degree.

With a clear vision in mind, Deysharee consulted colleagues about what universities she could attend when working full-time. “When I asked around, more than a few recommended WGU as the perfect option for my busy lifestyle. After a few phone calls with the admissions department, I agreed that WGU Texas was the best choice for me.”

Deysharee found WGU’s flexible degree program that allowed her to balance her schoolwork with everyday life, along with the guidance from her program mentor, was the recipe for her success. “I have thrived with online learning, thanks to the layout of the courses, and the infinite help and support I’ve received from my mentor and the course instructors.”

At WGU, each student is paired with a program mentor to guide them through their degree program. For Deysharee, her mentor was a substantial part of her academic journey, and she credits much of her progress to her continued encouragement along the way. “Jori has taken care of me through all my ups and downs, guiding me, taking actions to make sure I’m always successful. I can honestly say I’ve always felt she cares for me a thousand percent.”

Finding a student-centered university was especially important to Deysharee after a prior college experience. To make ends meet, she balanced three jobs and found the lack of flexibility impossible to balance. Ultimately, the lack of resources and support from her professors led Deysharee to drop out. At that point, she was unsure if she would ever finish her degree. “Having found WGU, my entire perspective changed. It has been a wonderful experience thus far.”

Throughout her path to earning her degree, Deysharee endured obstacles and life experiences—multiple moves and new jobs, getting married, physical illness, emotional health, and welcoming her first child. She leaned on her support system to keep her going. “Through it all, my biggest cheerleaders were my husband, my family and friends, my mentor, and a lot of awesome coworkers. They kept me going the whole way through, and I’m eternally grateful.”

Now a WGU graduate with her BA in Elementary Education in hand, Deysharee has new career goals in mind, enrolling in an alt-certification program for EC-6 and Bilingual Supplemental she hopes to complete by June 2022. “WGU made all of it possible and continues to provide invaluable resources after graduating.”