Fulfilling Her Dreams

As the student speaker at Weber State University’s spring 2015 commencement, Shaquille Heath boldly stood before the audience and told her story:
 
“My birth parents were drug addicts, and their addictions took over so much of my childhood. Sometimes I didn’t have a place to sleep; sometimes I went hungry; and most times I was alone. This caused me to grow up very quickly. I had to make choices when I was too young to even fathom their consequences. But I did make one very smart choice, and that was higher education.”

Heath, who was adopted at age 13 by her best friend’s parents, excelled in school. At WSU, she majored in communication with an emphasis in public relations.

As a student, she created a campaign for Utah’s Homeless Outreach Service Team to bring awareness to the issue of homelessness. For her skills and desire to succeed, the Salt Lake Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America named Heath Utah’s 2015 Public Relations Student of the Year.
 
After graduation, Heath set out for California, determined to find work at a public relations firm. Less than a month later, she landed a job with Cutline, a public relations agency in San Francisco. As an account coordinator, she assists her colleagues in developing reports and abstracts. “I absolutely love it out here,” she said. “It’s amazing!”