Odilia Cerda heard about BYU-Pathway Worldwide from two missionaries while serving as a Relief Society president in her Spanish speaking ward in Pleasant Grove, Utah. They told Odilia BYU-Pathway could help the sisters in her ward earn a degree online regardless of their circumstances.
“It was mostly just ‘go and tell everyone about the program because you’re the Relief Society president.’ When they started to tell me about the program, I was so impressed that I was like, ‘Okay, maybe this is for me.’”
Both Odilia and her husband earned college degrees in Mexico, but when they moved to the United States, their degrees weren’t recognized. She had been looking for a way to continue her education since moving, but taking care of her five daughters was her primary focus.
As she shared the opportunity with the sisters in her ward, Odilia’s feeling that BYU-Pathway was an achievable way for her to earn another degree grew.
“Every time I talked about BYU-Pathway, it was getting more into me. I was like, ‘Oh, this is for me and this is for me.’ So when the time came, I started BYU-Pathway. I was just so excited, and it was so fun.”
Through her BYU-Pathway courses, she learned things that surprised her.
“There’s a class that you have to take called ‘PC 101: Life Skills,’ and that class was a totally different thing than what I’ve learned before. That’s one of the classes that I really loved.”
Odilia particularly loved that her BYU-Pathway education seamlessly integrated with her faith.
“BYU-Pathway connected me to myself and to the learning that I was getting and especially with our Heavenly Father. That’s a connection that I couldn’t get in any other place.”
After completing her foundational PathwayConnect courses, Odilia pursued a certificate in marriage and family relations. As a mom of five daughters, she felt it helped her figure out what matters most.
“I knew it was going to help me in the future, maybe in a job or something like that. But it was mostly to help me at home. And it really did. My certificate was for more than a job. It was for my family.”
Learn more about BYU-Pathway Worldwide, and see how you can join more than 61,000 students in 180 countries who are rediscovering themselves through their education.