Paige Levan's life is currently all about striking a balance. Working toward her Psychology degree at Temple Ambler while also working full-time makes it a requirement.

"I will admit it, I'm a procrastinator, but you cannot procrastinate when you work full-time and go to school. Every single Monday I sit down with my agenda book and I write out for each class what exactly I'm going to tackle which day," said Levan, 26, who only has a few credits of her junior year left before she is a senior. "I usually leave myself one day so if I don't get everything I need to get done on the other days, I have some spare hours. Time management is truly key — even for a procrastinator like me there's ways to keep an organized system that is going to help you succeed."

Levan was a Liberal Studies major at Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) before transferring to Temple University. Thanks to the dual admissions program between the two schools, Levan said, the transition couldn't have been easier.

"All of my credits transferred with no problem. The advisors at both campuses were very helpful. Walking in that first day at the Temple advising office, they just made everything so smooth — they gave me a goodie package, little things you don't even think about getting excited about like popsockets," she said. "They gave me a really great overview of everything I had already accomplished at MCCC and where I still needed to go with Temple. I liked that clear-cut path that they created for me."

Levan said she knew while in high school that Temple was always her destination.

"I've always loved the culture of Temple. It's a very diverse school; it's very inclusive," she said. "I like the history of Temple, that it started as a campus that was meant to be affordable for people in the area to come and get their degree. Academically, Temple is outstanding — Temple is very good at making students aware of the resources that are available for them. I've always been drawn to Temple and what it stands for as a community."

The beauty of Temple Ambler, was also certainly a draw, she said.

"I knew I would be commuting and I knew I could complete my degree at Ambler. I'm very outdoorsy; I've always been attracted to the campus and what it has to offer," she said. "Temple Ambler has every resource I could ask for. They make the transition very easy and keep you moving forward."

Moving forward for Levan means completing her Psychology degree and pursuing a career in law.  

"I wanted to go to law school and found that psychology was a great foundation for a law degree — I always knew I wanted to work with children so I might explore juvenile law or social work combined in some way with law," she said. "It gives me a lot of career options but down the line, if I decide to go in a different direction, I could get my master's and PhD in psychology, which would also open a lot of doors to different career paths.

In order to be in a profession where you're dealing with people, particularly in something as serious as the responsibilities of the legal profession "it's important to understand how people think, how people work, what their experiences are and how they've affected who they are as a person," Levan said.

"I think it's very important of have an understanding of other people when you are in a situation where you are essentially determining life and death in some cases," she said. "I definitely know I want to be on the prosecution side so maybe I'd like to be a judge. I'm also interested in politics. Law and psychology combined can take me to wherever my dreams lead me."

The science involved in psychology, Levan said, actually surprised her while she was taking classes for her major.  

"I know psychology is a social science but I never realized how in-depth that goes. When you see all of these psychological articles or studies, it's remarkable how much research and testing goes into it to ensure that there is validity and reliability to the outcomes," she said. "It's not just a theory, you test it a couple of times and move on. It's the same level of science as any field."

While focusing on her future and completing her degree, Levan has also managed the responsibilities of a full-time job. She was a supervisor at Costco for three years, recently stepping down from that position — though retaining her full-time status — to focus on school.

"Now that I'm getting further into my degree, that's where I want to put my focus. They have been super supportive of my school schedule and helping me get to where I am; I'm grateful for that," she said. "I think being a supervisor really gave me a lot of extra skills. I had to take a lot of training on how people work, how to talk to people, harassment; a broad range of topics. I had to learn how to work with people on a broad spectrum of levels — encouraging people and building them up."

Through it all, Levan has been able to maintain an excellent 3.5 GPA, "and I continue to work on bring that up," she said.

"You have to stay focused. You have to stay determined and make sure you keep that end goal in mind," she said. "There are definitely days where I'm working an 8-hour shift and coming home and doing three or four hours of homework before I take some time to decompress or eat. It is hard, but at the end of the day it's worth it. Thinking of that end goal makes it easier to keep pushing hard each day."

After graduation, Levan said, she plans to take the LSATs and start applying to law school.

"I want to take the time I need to study and go through the application process. Five years from now, I expect to be a law student graduate, hopefully taking and passing the bar exam and getting certified by the bar," she said. "Temple has been a great experience. Every professor that I've had has been more than helpful, especially at Temple Ambler. I think they keep in mind that many of us commute and do have other commitments outside of school. They show a lot of understanding and support — little things like that are incredibly helpful."