2025 Rising Star Alumni: The More You Understand, The More You Can Do

 

SLCC 2025 Rising Star Alumni Award recipient, Mason Mehr, reflects on his path, thus far. 

 “It was like “whiplash, in a good way,” said Mason Mehr when he received Salt Lake Community College’s (SLCC) 2025 Rising Star Alumni Award on December 4. It made him stop, step back and really reflect on all he had accomplished and the results of all his hard work and grit. Next fall, Mehr will start law school, a critical step in his career plans to work in social justice spaces and advocate for marginalized voices. 

 

Each year, the SLCC Alumni Leadership Council recognizes an alumni who has made a profound and positive impact in their communities and beyond, and who have graduated from the College within the last seven years. 

 

“I’ve always believed education is a source of power and the more you understand the more you can do,” says Mehr. “Understanding the law and our legal structure will provide me with the tools to make a difference, particularly in the juvenile justice space.” 

 

Law school was not on Mehr’s mind when he dropped out of college in 2020. He took a full-time job at Pinterest, where he spent two years building a marketing career. “Increasingly, I kept feeling like I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing,” says Mehr, who wondered if going back to school would help him figure out what would be more fulfilling. 

 

He decided to take one class to see if going back to school felt right. Mehr enrolled at SLCC and took an Ethics class about Native Americans. Thrilled with the class and being a student again, Mehr registered for 18 credits the next semester at SLCC. 

 

In 2023, Mehr, a first-generation student, graduated from SLCC with honors, earning an associate’s degree in Communications Studies. He then transferred to the University of Utah to complete a bachelor’s in Communications, where he was a member of the Crimson Transfer Honors Society. He worked full-time for most of his schooling, and in his final year primarily relied on scholarship money and internships. 

 

“Mason’s leadership qualities and his drive to optimize his impact through education and through community and legal organizations made him a standout candidate,” says Mike Bird, Chair of the SLCC Alumni Leadership Council. “We are incredibly proud to present this award to such a remarkable individual.” 

 

Sasha Beatty, an attorney who worked with Mehr at the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA), adds: “Mason approaches every challenge with a level of maturity and insight that sets him apart, often identifying nuances and details that others might overlook…His dedication is matched by his intelligence and composure, allowing him to tackle complex issues with a unique blend of analytical thinking and creativity.”

 

Gaining Clarity and Purpose Through Internships 

Internships played a pivotal role in helping Mehr figure out why he wanted to pursue law, particularly his internship at the APA. “It planted seeds as to what to do in this giant world of so many options—it reformed my career path and altered my perception of social justice,” says Mehr, who received the U of U’s 2023-24 Internship of the Year award. While at the association, he co-authored and published a paper on subgroups at risk for recidivism and opportunities that could reduce or prevent incarceration. 

 

Other internships included serving as a One Utah Service Fellow in Americorps, where he was placed with the nonprofit Big Brothers Big Sisters. While there, he developed a comprehensive marketing campaign to increase mentorship participation. He also worked in Washington DC for Chopard Consulting, providing legal research on a variety of topics, including social justice issues. “I gained so much exposure through my internships in finding out what did and did not interest me, and I also connected with people and situations that helped me understand why I should care,” reflects Mehr. 

 

In high school, Mehr was recognized as a New Nations Writing recipient in 2018 and participated in a HEFY Humanitarian trip to Peru, where he helped build a medical clinic. His parents raised him to be open-minded and to consider college as a possible path. “My parents didn’t attend college but made it clear that they supported it if we chose that path, and that they would do whatever they could to help us get there,” recalls Mehr, whose father earned his GED in his early twenties. College was not an opportunity that either of his parents had in their lives. 

 

At only 23 years old, Mehr sense of purpose is strong. His advice to others who may be grappling with who they are and what they want to do in life, is to read. Read a lot. Mehr devours around 50 books a year. “It is the most valuable tool in developing critical thinking and understanding; take time to sharpen it,” says Mehr, who deadpans that he would have been married in library if he could have. 

 

He also suggests reflecting deeply about your place in your family, your community, in government policy. Do you see yourself? What topics or people are being represented?  “This helps you figure out what matters to you,” says Mehr. “For me, I saw inequalities and the need for more voices to be represented.”