When Leah Shipley started taking classes at Front Range Community College in Longmont, it was her first time ever learning in a classroom after being homeschooled her entire life.

Shipley is one of six children and a first-generation student who was discouraged by her parents from going to college. Nearly 10 years after she finished high school, Shipley will be graduating with her first college degree and will join a research program with Harvard University and the Smithsonian this summer.

“I feel really proud of my accomplishments,” Shipley said. “‘I’ve worked really hard and faced a steep learning curve, and I’m really grateful for everyone who’s supported me.”

This month, Shipley will graduate with an associate’s degree in computer science. This summer, she will join the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’ Solar Physics Research Experience for Undergraduates program. There, Shipley will study and research solar flares, or intense bursts of energy in the sun’s atmosphere.

“I’m really excited about it,” Shipley said. “I’ve always been interested in astronomy, and this is my dream, especially space weather.”

Her interest in science and astronomy began when she was a child. Growing up, she remembers looking through a telescope and observing the night sky. Shipley also loved watching and recording the weather.

She had some interest in college but wasn’t sure if it was something she could do. Shipley grew up in a conservative house in the countryside of rural southern Ohio and was homeschooled at all grade levels with her siblings.

“It wasn’t really expected for women to go to college, and I was expected to be a stay-at-home mother and wife,” Shipley said.

Shipley finished high school in 2014 and worked various jobs before moving to Wyoming in 2020 to stay with friends.

“(Home) felt kind of restricting, and that’s part of the reason I moved away in 2020, so that I could find independence,” she said.

After moving to Wyoming, Shipley ended up living in Colorado through new friends she met, one of whom worked at FRCC. Because neither of her parents went to college, she wasn’t familiar with how to enroll at college. Her friend at FRCC, who was an instructor, helped her by explaining how she could get started. Shipley enrolled at FRCC in the fall of 2023.

Beck Seren was Shipley’s TRIO student support services success coach. TRIO is a federally funded program to support students with limited income, who are first-generation college students and/or have a documented disability.

Seren supported Shipley as she worried at first about her capacity to keep up with the workload and potentially relate to traditional students who enrolled right after high school. Seren also witnessed as Shipley handled difficult personal challenges.

“She really is capable of moving through tremendous odds, and she does so at her own pace with a self-assuredness that is really beautiful to see in a student,” Seren said.

Seren described Shipley as observant, patient, methodical, steady and resolved.

“Students like Leah help me feel hopeful about the future, not just for their personal capacity .. but for the development of community centered around community, care and mutual support,” Seren said. “I think we’re going to see the evidence of Leah’s efforts and for (her) attention to community and the needs of others wherever (Leah’s) headed.”

Shipley spent last summer participating in research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder. She studied climatology of aviation weather in Alaska and used Python computer programming to analyze data. It was her first time using her skills to study something she’s passionate about, like weather and climate.

“It really showed me I belong in science,” Shipley said. “It’s really inspired me to keep pursuing my passion for science.”

When Shipley first walked into Brooke McKinney’s office at FRCC, McKinney could tell Shipley was feeling lost. Since then, McKinney, Shipley’s academic advisor, has seen her grow into a confident and extremely successful student and person. In addition to her strong academics and research experience, Shipley has also won multiple awards.

“Her resilience and perseverance are admirable, and I just feel thrilled for her that she’s had so much success,” McKinney said.

McKinney said FRCC was a great place for Shipley because it’s small, people are friendly and students can get the help and resources they need.

“I think she probably walked into Front Range unsure of what she could do or what she would do,” McKinney said. “And I think throughout her tenure at Front Range, she’s realized she has strengths and skills, she can be a leader in her own way, and I think I’ve really seen personal and educational growth in the last few years. I feel like she’s reaching the beginning of her potential.”

After her internship at Harvard this summer, Shipley will transfer to a four-year university to pursue a bachelor’s degree in physics or meteorology. She’s waiting for scholarship decisions to arrive and will then choose between Metropolitan State University of Denver and the University of Northern Colorado.

While she’s not in contact with her dad, she is in touch with her mom, who she said has been very supportive of Shipley as she pursues her college education.

“I’m really excited about it,” Shipley said. “I feel like my education in my first two years at FRCC has really set me up for success, and I feel like I belong in science. I’m excited to learn more and grow, and contribute to science.”

The options for her potential career excite her. She could be a weather forecaster for the National Weather Service, or make a career out of researching solar weather and the sun.

“Before FRCC, I felt a bit lost,” Shipley said. “I wasn’t sure of my identity or who I was … my community has definitely grown at Front Range Community College, and I’ve learned so much.”