University Of Missouri-St. Louis: Internal Drive, Supportive Family Help Natalie Orf Juggle Parenting, School To Earn Economics Degree

Press release from the University of Missouri-St. Louis:

December 20, 2021

Natalie Orf didn’t realize how much she cared about taking part in commencement ceremonies over the weekend at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

“I wasn’t sure I was going to walk, especially if it was going to be a virtual commencement,” she said.

But as she got further and further into her final semester, and particularly after learning UMSL would be holding in-person commencement ceremonies for the first time in two years, Orf found herself looking forward to the ritual more and more.

She especially wanted to be able to share the experience with her 4-year-old son, Terrance, who had to sacrifice time with his mother over the past 4½ years while she worked toward her bachelor’s degree in economics.

“This is something that I want to show him and take pictures and look back on,” she said. “And it’s something that I want to show other moms, ‘You can do this, too.’”

She’s displayed great focus and drive throughout the years-long journey that preceded her walk across the stage Saturday afternoon at the Mark Twain Athletic Center. She’s also demonstrated the importance of adapting when the circumstances of life upend one’s plans.

Orf, who grew up in St. Charles County, had been planning on going away to college when she got pregnant before her senior year at Fort Zumwalt North High School.

“I knew once I got pregnant that I had to stay close to home,” Orf said. “I was limited in my options.”

She was plotting possible paths as she graduated high school a semester early and gave birth to Terrance in February 2017. She considered community college or several of the region’s private universities, but her mother, Deanna, suggested she look into UMSL.

Deanna had a good experience at the university when she returned to school to pursue her degree in political science and public policy administration more than a decade ago.

It turned out Orf’s grade-point average and strong ACT score qualified her for the Chancellor’s Scholarship, which covered the bulk of her tuition from when she enrolled in the fall of 2017 through last spring.

The financial support coupled with its proximity, flexible class schedules and other on-campus resources made UMSL an easy choice, and she’s never regretted it.

“Everyone here is on the same page,” Orf said. “There are a lot of nontraditional students here, a lot of other parents and people that are coming back to school. We’re all here to get our degree. We’re all here to learn. Everyone here is very ambitious.”

Orf started out majoring in biochemistry with the goal to pursue medical school – a dream of hers she’d held since she was 12 years old. But at some point during her freshman year, as she coped with college coursework while caring for her 1-year-old son, the prospect of three more years as an undergraduate followed by four years of medical school and then a residency started to seem like too much.

She knew she wanted to change directions, but she had no idea where to go next.

Fortunately, Orf found her way to UMSL Career Services.

“I’m not exactly sure what pushed me to go to Career Services or who gave me that idea, but I’m so glad that I did,” Orf said. “They were a huge help. I took their personal assessment quizzes, and then they sat down with me, and we were able to talk about what those meant and what kind of careers I could go into.”

She liked the idea of getting involved in the business side of health care, and she looked at a few majors that might help her get there. Her older sister, who at the time was pursuing a degree in economics at Southeast Missouri State University, encouraged her to give the major a try.

Orf sought out a meeting with Professor Anne Winkler, then the chair of the Department of Economics, to learn more about UMSL’s program and how it could develop her analytical thinking and understanding of the economic principles at play in the health care market.

This press release was produced by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The views expressed here are the author’s own.