'There's a path for everyone': First student to utilize TechTransfer will graduate from Weber State
OGDEN, Utah — Although she hasn’t attended Weber State University in over a year, Rebekah Richter will graduate from WSU this month with her associate degree, becoming the first student to take advantage of the new TechTransfer initiative.
TechTransfer allows anyone with a Utah technical college certificate to earn up to 21 elective credits toward any undergraduate certificate, associate or bachelor’s degree program at Weber State.
Richter initially came to Weber State in 2020 to pursue an associate degree in radiologic technology. After switching majors, and with a baby on the way, she decided to pause her education and focus on her family.
Feeling unhappy with the idea of not having a career, she enrolled at Ogden-Weber Technical College to get a certificate in cosmetology: “I needed a career that would allow me to work at home but also let me socialize and help people,” she said.
Richter completed her certificate in 13 months as she raised a newborn and was pregnant with her second child. Even then, she debated returning to Weber State because she was only five elective credits away from an associate degree.
“In the past, tech college students would finish their certificates, and they just didn’t see a way to Weber State,” said Marci Chapman, regional pathways coordinator at WSU. “This new initiative is helping students reach their dreams by bridging that gap.”
Familiar with Richter’s situation, Chapman contacted her in October with news that she was eligible to graduate from Weber State this semester via TechTransfer. Although credit conversions depend on the hours required to complete the tech college certificate, Richter’s 1,600-hour cosmetology certificate earned her 21 credits at WSU, putting her over the amount she needed to finish her associate degree.
Richter will graduate Dec. 13 with an Associate of Science in General Studies, and plans to return to Weber State for a bachelor’s degree when the time is best for her family.
“I really like the community at Weber State because you get to meet people of all ages and all life circumstances,” Richter said. “I’m also really grateful that there are people out there with students' best interests at heart.”
Richter said she’s interested in studying dental hygiene or nursing — and the TechTransfer initiative opened a pathway to do that more easily.
“As my life and perspectives on school have changed, I’ve realized it’s important to get an education in any way possible,” Richter said. “Whatever it is, there’s a path for everyone.”
Erika Gonzalez Lara, Marketing & Communications
801-626-7948, erikagonzalezlara@weber.edu- Contact:
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu