University of North Texas 
2021 UNT Great Grads Fall
Taylor Jay
When asked what her greatest challenge has been and why she should be a great grad, Taylor answers,
“I believe my greatest challenge has been my battle with mental health. I am a survivor of sexual assault and have struggled with depression for years. I transferred to UNT from a Junior College in Northern California in 2019 to be closer to my mother after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. From the beginning of her cancer journey, we knew her type of cancer was terminal and that she might not have much time left. My first thought was that I needed to drop out of school to spend time with her and help get her to and from doctor's appointments, but mom would never let that happen. She told everyone she came in contact with that her only goal was to live long enough to see me graduate, so naturally, I took as many classes as I could handle and drove 10 hours round-trip home on weekends to make it all work. Although we lost her this July, and she will not see me walk across the stage, I am determined to make it there. Losing my mother in addition to my fight with depression has made school challenging but I am a firm believer that your life is yours and you are the only one who gets to decide what you do with it.
I had been to 3 other colleges before transferring to UNT and had started to believe that maybe college just wasn't for me. From the start of my first class in 2019 to fall 2021 in my last semester, I have felt right at home. I would not have made it to Graduation without the encouragement and support from my professors and family. I will always be thankful for my time at UNT. After graduation I plan on attending graduate school to continue my studies in sociolinguistics.
Also, I am a tutor at the Student Athlete Academic center and will be graduating cum laude!”