Our UNM Story - Part 2 | Kristen's Story

Born in Southern California, my parents and I moved to Utah when I was very young. I grew up in a West Jordan neighborhood with picket fences and plenty of kids to play with. My grandfather was raised on a farm but any agricultural roots ended with him. We weren’t into gardening, I rode a horse once, and I went on a single camping trip with my dad. With the exception of the beach on our visits to California (loved whale watching!), the outdoors just wasn’t our thing.

However spots, any and all kinds, were my favorite and that’s what we did as a family. I was kind of a tomboy and spent hours with the neighborhood boys and my brother playing basketball, baseball, and football. My dad taught me to play golf, the game he loves, and I competed in numerous tournaments. My goal was to make the high school teams, so I was ecstatic when I was able to play both basketball and volleyball for West Jordan High and be a Lady Jag (there was no girls golf team at the time or I would have jumped at that chance).

And I loved animals. I planned on becoming a veterinarian and buying a plot of land where I could have a lot of rescue dogs. Whether it was the neighbor’s cat or my grandpa’s dog, Pierre, I wanted to be around animals. My best friends were my two poodles, Sabrina & Sam, who went everywhere with me.

But when it came time to decide what to do after high school, the chemistry requirements for a vet degree made me nervous. As I debated between that and a business degree, business eventually won out as there were so many more jobs available at the time. So off I went to being my study in accounting, economics, and marketing.