Learn, Work, Repeat

When Abby Otto became a full-time Launch student in the middle of her junior year, she immediately established a new routine. “I’d set my alarm for 7:30 a.m. every day,” Abby says. “I’d wake up, eat breakfast, and then start on my school work and do as much as I could with the time I had.”

The time she had to work on her coursework varied from day to day, as she also worked a full-time job at Starbucks in her local Target. “Sometimes I would get up early and open the store,” Abby says. “And there were also days when I’d go in at noon, then work until close.” But regardless of the hours she spent crafting specialty coffees, she always made sure she got her coursework done, too.

“Online school provided a better experience for me than in-person,” Abby says. “I liked that I could do things on my own time and at my own pace. And my teachers always motivated me—they helped me feel like I could go for whatever I aimed for.”

In fact, Abby’s Launch English teacher was one of her biggest supporters regarding her goal of becoming a counselor. “My cousin passed away a few years ago, because he did not have anyone there for him when he really needed it,” Abby says. “He didn’t have that person to talk to or trust with his words. Being able to save people that are going through what my cousin went through would not only bring hope to me, but it would bring hope to others around me that there is another choice in life.”

Abby’s Essay Excerpt: In Her Own Words

…Around the summertime last year I came to the conclusion that I would love to be able to help people mentally and make sure that people are not alone and that they have someone there for them who is willing to listen to their problems and help them. It has been my final decision to become a counselor, majoring in psychology, and being able to get my PhD. To me, mental health is everything. It was something that I struggled with for so long, and it took me years to find people who were willing to listen and help me, without a prescription. To be able to make an office someone else’s safe space would be a dream come true—I thrive to be the person that someone wants to see and wants to have there when they are going through something that they can not get through on their own.