Hi! My name is Jennie Houtz and I grew up in Salem, Utah with three younger brothers. I love spending time in the mountains hiking or riding four-wheelers, and I am obsessed with outer space and visiting national parks. In high school I played softball and volleyball and was involved in Future Business Leaders of America. After graduating, I went to Southern Utah University in Cedar City and loved every minute of it. I started my college career in Biology, planning to go to PA school. I served a mission in Posadas, Argentina and after finishing went back to SUU. I soon realized that Biology wasn’t the path for me and switched my major to Business Management. After dabbling in business I still wasn’t finding the passion that I wanted and decided to transfer schools. I ended up at BYU and finished my undergraduate degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Health Promotion. I loved it! Although it was a process exploring what fit me best, finding a major that I was passionate about was well worth it. I spent two and a half years working as a health promotion coordinator for a non-profit organization called Centro Hispano. During this time I realized that I was very passionate about the interactions I had with people and that I wanted to become a therapist. I am currently in BYU’s MSW program and hope to one day become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Having experienced a lot of my own failures and setbacks, I understand how hard and frustrating it may be. But through those failures and setbacks I have grown and found ways to get back up and keep pushing forward. One of the main reasons that I love my job as an academic advisor here at the University Advisement Center is that I get to help students see their potential and help them figure out a way to achieve their goals. The University Advisement Center gives opportunity to explore and wonder about different majors and careers, helping students find a good fit for them, and I am blessed to be a part of the process.
Hometown - Salem, Utah
Majors-
Bachelor's: Public Health with an emphasis in health promotion
Master's: Currently pursuing a Master's in Social Work.
Hobbies - I love playing or watching any sport, hiking, riding 4-wheelers and motorcycles, hammocking, eating, reading, doing puzzles, Netflix, and exploring new places (especially national parks).
College Struggle - I had a hard time accepting failure and picking a major that was a good fit for me. I also transferred to BYU which had some separate struggles as the culture and classes were quite different from my previous university.
High School Info - In high school I played softball and volleyball, was part of Future Business Leaders of America, and went to school to become a Medical Assistant.