Ambitious, persistent and studious are just a few words to describe Organization and Project Management student Desirae Blunt-Lamkey.

Blunt-Lamkey is beginning her second year of the program after completing her Associate of Arts degree with Western Nevada College in 2020. Desiraes journey with WNC started with WNCs ACCEL College and Career Readiness Program in 2012. She was a mother of three young children, the youngest starting school that fall.

I have loved the quote from Jeffrey R. Holland, Dont wait to live. This isnt a rehearsal; this isnt a dry run; this isnt a pre-performance routine. This is it. This is real life. Dont wait. Savor every minute, Blunt-Lamkey said. This is real life and getting an education meant me not waiting any longer. It meant me being an example for my children and working toward the best life.

In 2017, Blunt-Lamkey enrolled in WNC to start working on her Associate of Arts degree. She made lifelong friends in her first class, English 101.

A group of us created a real bond in that class and provided one another with encouragement and friendship throughout our degree program. We graduated together in May 2020, Blunt-Lamkey recalled.

While taking classes, Blunt-Lamkey also became a work study student in the Fallon Campus Administrative Office, where she gained indispensable work experience and applied many of the skills she was learning in her classes in a real-life, day-to-day setting. Her devotion, loyalty and unmatched work skills were recognized in 2019 when she was named Associated Students of Western Nevada Student Employee of the Year. Along with the award, Blunt-Lamkey was a member of the honor society Phi Theta Kappa and an ASWN senator.

Receiving scholarships and grants made attending and focusing on school and family much easier, said Blunt-Lamkey, who now works as an administrative assistant at WNC. I was able to complete my associate degree without any student debt, and that would not have been possible without that critical assistance. I am forever grateful to be able to come to college, start on a bachelors degree and show my kids that their goals are attainable, and dont wait to live.