“Create the change you wish to see in the world.”
This spin on the famous Mahatma Ghandi quote embodies how University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) graduate Jyevonne Saffold leads by example in her personal and professional
Early on, she committed to this philosophy, but it wasn’t until a major life change in high school when it became a lived experience.
In eleventh grade, Jyevonne moved out of her mother’s home in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Westlawn Housing Projects to live with her sister in Arizona, a transition she calls a blessing in disguise.
“My goal was not to be a statistic in teen pregnancy,” she says.
Jyevonne’s world opened after moving to Arizona. She had many firsts, including eating out at a restaurant. But perhaps more significant, she witnessed her sister gain an education and hold a well-paying job. This ignited a spark in Jyevonne.
Jyevonne doesn’t want to erase her past, and she honors her life growing up in Milwaukee. Although living in the projects helped shape her identity, there was more to life she wanted to experience.
“When I moved, life became different, and I was able to see things differently, and I wanted to achieve more,” she explains.
While still in high school, Jyevonne applied for a position in law enforcement, eventually working in the juvenile detention center as a sheriff detention officer for nine and a half years. During her last four years in this role, Jyevonne worked with adolescents in the psychiatric ward, where she heard stories of children who faced challenging situations.
“When I was with these populations, we wanted to still give them a sense of humanity, so we would play basketball with them, and just do different activities together so that they saw us differently as officers,” she says.
Impactful Career Moves
Ultimately, feeling limited by the impact she could make as an officer, this experience drove Jyevonne to seek ways to make her community better. When she was 20, a colleague at the jail saw the potential in her and encouraged her to go back to school. Jyevonne earned her associate degree in adolescent development from Rio Salado College in 2015, but she knew that to create real change, she would need to further her education.
That led her to earn a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from UAGC in 2017. The fully online format at UAGC fit into Jyevonne’s life, and she was thrilled she could transfer a majority of her credits from her associate degree. This dramatically reduced the amount of time it took for her to complete her bachelor’s degree.
Soon after, she transitioned to a role as a middle school English Language Arts teacher* and set out on her mission to enact change.
“I knew when I went into the school systems, I wanted to make it a safe space, and I wanted kids to be able to articulate what they felt and advocate for themselves when it came to education,” she explained. “Because that’s where they begin to develop their voice.”
Today she is the Dean of Students and Teacher Services and School Counsel at a Title I school, which by definition is located in a high-poverty area and receives additional funding to close achievement gaps in under-performing student populations. In her roles, she has gone the extra mile by implementing programs, including the AAA School Safety Patrol and Natasha’s Closet to improve community involvement and social wellness.
In 2017, my sister Natasha passed away, and it was very difficult. At that point, I didn’t want to go to class, and I was using it as an excuse not to be my best. I had a professor who wrote me expressing sympathy but still holding a high standard, saying ‘you’re stronger than this, and you’ll overcome it.’
She also established the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day in honor of Ruby Bridges, a 6-year-old New Orleans girl who was the first Black girl to be integrated into an all-white school. The celebration is in partnership with AAA School Safety Patrol, a larger initiative that aims to keep schools an inclusive place for everyone via peer-to-peer mentors.
Jyevonne also notes the importance of building partnerships with parents in creating healthy educational environments for students.
“It was my goal to get parents more involved and bridge that gap between the community and the school,” she explains. “Because we are looking after their children most of the time, we have to co-parent in a way, and they know their child best. So, it’s important that they are on our side and to let the kids know that we’re a working team.”
All told, Jyevonne has helped raise more than $14,000 in grant funding through her efforts.
For her exceptional work with the AAA School Safety Patrol program and efforts to create safe environments at school, Jyevonne won the 2025 AAA Patrol Advisor of the Year award.
Always Learning
Since earning her bachelor’s degree in 2017, Jyevonne went on to earn two master’s degrees at UAGC, including her Master of Arts in Education and a Master of Arts in Psychology. With four degrees under her belt, Jyevonne says applying the skills she learned in her coursework to real life is how she learns best.
“I learned different ways to navigate conversations and to have more empathy,” she explains. “I learned to be patient, to analyze the situation before judging, and honestly, to cast out judgment completely, because that builds a wall. I am able to support the students in ways I’ve never been able to before, just through conversation.”
Through her UAGC programs, Jyevonne refined her soft skills of patience and conflict resolution, as well as hard skills including lesson planning and understanding of behavioral illnesses. However, her journey has not been without her own personal struggles, as she persevered through a death in the family and her own illness while earning her degrees.
Second only to her own persistence and hard work, Jyevonne shares that the support of her professors and staff members at UAGC played a pivotal role in her success.
“In 2017, my sister Natasha passed away, and it was very difficult,” she shares. “At that point, I didn’t want to go to class, and I was using it as an excuse not to be my best. I had a professor who wrote me expressing sympathy but still holding a high standard, saying ‘you’re stronger than this, and you’ll overcome it.’"
Another UAGC faculty member who aided her personal and professional growth is Dr. Paul Greenberg, whom Jyevonne says taught her concepts she continues to use daily.
“He has been a true inspiration, and beyond that he helped me advocate for myself when I was in school and I was very sick,” she says. “He taught me about knowing my worth and seeing my potential.”
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*UAGC degree programs are not designed to meet the state educational requirements for teacher licensure or certification in any state.
Written by Rachel Vensand, M.Ed., a Communications Specialist at UAGC.