Out-of-state student finds home at UNI
Out-of-state student finds home at UNI
Bella Markley grew up four hours away from the University of Northern Iowa in Canton, Illinois. But she believes she found her true home in Cedar Falls. She found community. She found love. And she’s laying down roots to start her career.
“From the moment I moved here, I knew that this is where I belonged,” she said. “I instantly connected with people. I instantly made friends. I instantly found professors I enjoyed. I found resources on-campus and even in the community. I found places I like to go.”
Finding her home at UNI
Markley came to UNI as a transfer student from an Illinois community college. With one parent that went to college and one that did not, she wrestled with the decision to pursue higher education — until a high school psychology course changed everything.
Inspired by her teacher, she set her sights on becoming a social science educator. But as she searched for a university in Illinois that would allow her to teach high school psychology, she kept coming up empty until an out-of-state school emerged in her search results: the University of Northern Iowa.
Curious, she scheduled a visit. The moment she set foot on campus, she felt it — this was home.
“Cedar Falls is bigger than my hometown, but UNI still had that close-knit feel,” she said. “At other schools I visited, I felt like just a number. Here, I felt like a person.”
Markley was met with ample support for her decision to attend an out-of-state school.
“I think everyone could tell I was the type of person who had really outgrown my hometown.”
Once she started her studies, Markley wasted no time making connections. She made friends on campus through her classes and off campus through her job and involvement with community organizations.
“When I went home that first time for Christmas, I saw my family over winter break, and I remember just wanting to come back here,” she said. “I was homesick for Cedar Falls. I felt like my life was really established here.”
Markley heard the expression “Iowa nice” used to describe Iowa residents and quickly realized it was true.
“It's almost hard for me not to say I’m from here because that's just what it feels like,” she said. “It feels like I've been here my whole life.”
Finding her fit in social work
Through her sociology classes, Markley was inspired by her classmates and her now-wife to switch her major to social work. She’s been met with immense support from faculty in the department, especially Libby Fry and Ashleigh Kysar-Moon.
“I love the social work program,” she said. “They've been phenomenal. I've never met a department of people who are so willing to work with you and are so open and constantly changing the expectations in a good way.”
Through one of her assignments, Markley worked with the Cedar Valley LGBTQ Coalition to create a mentorship program. Even after the assignment concluded, the mentorship program is still up, running and meeting regularly. 'Markley hopes to obtain her licensed independent social worker credential and become a mental health therapist. But she doesn’t want to stop there. She would love to earn her PhD, so she can teach at the college level while also administering therapy.
The next stop on her journey is her internship with the Riverview Center in Waterloo, which provides services to survivors of sexual assault and abuse. Next summer, she plans to begin her Master of Social Work at UNI.
Her dream for students from neighboring states
While Markley’s UNI experience has been filled with so many good experiences, it has not been without its challenges. The biggest was just making sure she was properly planning to be able to afford her education. She worked multiple jobs while at community college to be able to budget for a four-year degree. Thanks to scholarships, attending UNI — even as an out-of-state student — was more affordable than staying in Illinois.
She’s excited about UNI’s Neighboring State Rate — an initiative that provides in-state tuition for new undergraduate students from Iowa’s neighboring states. She knows what having a college education has meant to her and would love to see opportunities expand for students from her home state.
“I'm just so happy this would open the door for people to finish a bachelor's degree. I'm very glad that this is a step UNI is taking to make sure more people can finish school.”
