She loved growing up in Yuma and will always think of it as home, but Kirsten Stubbs aspires to follow the road to success she hopes will lead to bright lights and the big city.

  Stubbs, a mass communications major at Arizona State University, says she is aiming for a public relations career in entertainment or sports because those fields are dynamic and will keep her on her toes. She has made the Dean's List every semester and maintains a 3.99 grade-point average.

  "My passions are meeting new people and cultures," says the sophomore. "I'd love to promote a music venue like the House of Blues, it's a huge venue with plenty of growth potential. That would be my perfect job."

  "But Yuma, I think, is a wonderful place to live and raise a family and I'm a direct result of that," she said.

  Financial aid has helped pave a path for Stubbs' academic career. Her most generous benefactor was ASU which provided a President's Scholarship, an $8,000 award. She also has a $3,200 federal Pell Grant, and a $1,300 Academic Competitiveness Grant she received for making the top 5 percent of her high school graduation class, as well as additional assistance.

  "It covers tuition, living expenses and books, so I'm pretty blessed to be here," Stubbs said. "It's the only way I could attend a university."

  Although higher education is a great way to open the global perspective for a small town native, much of her education has taken place in her extracurricular activities, Stubbs noted.

  The Devil's Advocates is an all-volunteer organization to which she devotes time. The Advocates act as liaisons to prospective students and incoming freshmen, whom they take on campus tours and for whom they organize welcome events. The Advocates are the first faces newcomers see at ASU.

  "Freshmen will come up to and tell you, 'You're the reason I'm attending ASU,' and that's a great feeling," Stubbs said.

  She is also president of Alpha Kappa Psi, a co-educational business fraternity that mixes business networking and philanthropy, and calls it the "most rewarding" aspect of ASU so far.

  And Stubbs was also accepted into Barrett, The Honors College at ASU, that offers study abroad opportunities, honors classes, and internship opportunities. Barrett also tends to post the most elite professors to their curriculum, she said.

  Despite some young people's complaints about Yuma's provincialism, people really care about one another here and there is a sense of family, Stubbs said. When she was in grade school a lack of organized activities forced her to be more imaginative and she and friends often created their own games at city parks that helped her to bond with friends and the town more closely.

  "But in my career path Yuma is not the best market and I'll probably end up in Phoenix or L.A." Stubbs said. "I think higher education is very important in today's changing work force. Career fields are so competitive you need that extra edge that the university can provide."

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William Roller can be reached at wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.