OGDEN, Utah — An award-winning student at Weber State has very good reason to be proud; just a few years ago, she was homeless and had just over $2 to her name.
Jessica Stratton, a straight-A computer science major won the Student Pathway Award last month, but her road to this achievement included a homeless stretch after leaving a problematic home at 18.
While homeless, she says she survived on cereal and showered at a gym, sleeping every other night because of working graveyard shifts to earn money for college.
“At that time, I could eat, or I could go to school,” she said. “School got put on the back burner. I kept telling myself, when things get a little bit smoother, when I get a raise, then I’ll start looking at school.”
Stratton eventually slept on a futon in a friend's basement before earning enough for a one-bedroom apartment.
She credits her mother, who she lost to ovarian cancer in 2020, with instilling the importance of education to her and her four siblings.
“We started doing times tables in kindergarten,” Stratton said. “My mother always said education was key, but she ended up passing away before she could see any of her kids get a college degree.”
Stratton is pursuing her dream of studying computer science through financial aid and private scholarships, with a goal of graduating in 2025 and seeking a career that combines technology with art.
“I’m not ashamed of my past—that’s still part of me,” she said. “It doesn't matter where you come from, as long as you know what you want and are moving forward.”
