Driven Los Angeles-area grad ready to take on her future, thanks to ASU Local
ASU Local student Olivia Covarrubias graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from ASU's Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. Courtesy photo
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable fall 2023 graduates.
Olivia Covarrubias, 20, is on a mission.
Just two years after finishing South Hills High School in West Covina, California, she graduated this month with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice, minoring in psychology, through ASU Local in Los Angeles. And she is headed to Alabama in August for Officer Training School in the U.S. Air Force.
“I’m ready to take on the next thing,” she said. “I’m ready to close this chapter and start writing the pages of the new one and see where it takes me.”
Covarrubias credits Arizona State University as a big part of her journey. She was looking at ASU from the start and ultimately decided to enroll at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Later she attended ASU in Phoenix before deciding to go home and live with her parents while at ASU Local. It became a refuge of close-knit relationships and the academic focus she craved.
ASU Local is a hybrid college program that pairs in-person coaching and mentorship as part of a tightly knit community with the flexibility of accessing all coursework online, 24/7, through ASU Online.
The ASU California Center Broadway was a home away from home, allowing Covarrubias to blend online learning with in-person touchpoints. Room 249 carries particularly vivid memories of having found a home within a classroom.
“It’s just being around the people who love and care about you,” she said.
Covarrubias is evaluating her Air Force options and may gravitate towards a military police position, which would complement her education and desire to bond with community members.
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