South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey has been presented Salt Lake Community College’s Distinguished Alumni Award, which honors SLCC graduates and former students for their service to the community. She was one of two honorees for the annual award. Kearns High principal Daniel Stirland received the male alumnus award.

In its SLCC Magazine, Ramsey said she experienced SLCC at two very different times–once when she was just a few years out of high school, and later when she returned as a mother of six. She earned an AS degree in general studies in 2017, then completed a bachelor’s degree at BYU in family science with an emphasis in political science and civic engagement leadership.

“I chose to take a break from my education that unexpectedly lasted 20 years,” she said in the magazine article. “I cannot imagine there ever was a nontraditional student as excited as I was to be back in school.”

It was shortly after graduating from SLCC that she was elected the first female mayor of South Jordan, a position she’s held for two terms, and is running again this year. 

SLCC said the Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest award the college bestows on alumni.