Originally published on May 31, 2024.
With its proximity to national parks and plentiful outdoor activities, Southern Utah University was of immediate interest to Betsy Jefferis as she explored higher education as a graduate of Basic High School in Henderson, Nev. And once she discovered the beautiful campus, one-on-one interaction with professors, and small class sizes, the choice was obvious.
“SUU taught me that goals are attainable with hard work and persistence,” she says. “The resources at SUU that helped me to be a successful student included an LSAT prep course and an employment ‘bank’ that connected us with potential employers.”
Taking political philosophy and history classes and receiving support on her thesis helped Betsy prepare for a career in law by improving her overall reading, writing, and analytical skills.
“I learned that anything worth having is worth the work. Even though my classes were challenging, I enjoyed learning from my professors and collaborating in study groups with my classmates,” she says.
After her 2004 graduation with degrees in history and political science, Betsy moved back to Nevada with her newborn son and began teaching high school armed with a Secondary Education Teaching Certificate. Reflecting on some recommendations from her SUU professors, she decided to pursue law school in addition to teaching.
Betsy is now a litigation attorney at Hicks & Brasier (a Las Vegas personal injury law firm) and has helped hundreds of clients obtain justice after being injured by someone else. Her practice covers car crashes, slips and trips, falling merchandise, first-party insurance claims, and wrongful death cases. She takes pride in helping victims obtain successful litigation results through either a settlement or a trial.
Betsy is also an extremely active member of her community, serving as co-secretary of the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys and as a member of the women’s caucus of the Nevada Justice Association. She is also involved in efforts among local and multi-state dog rescue transport and adoption assistance organizations and serves as a board member of a dog rescue concern in Baja California, Mexico.
Betsy was born in Palo Alto, California and raised in Henderson, Nevada. After graduating from Basic High School, Betsy attended Southern Utah University — obtaining degrees in both History and Political Science. Betsy also received her Secondary Education Teaching Certification and taught high school Spanish, History and Sociology.
Tags: College of Humanities and Social Sciences Political Science History
