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Most college students struggle to leave home, but for Olivia Wetzel, the transition started years earlier. The sophomore journalism major at the University of Colorado, Boulder, since preschool has attended school outside her home state of West Virginia.

At 13, she followed the family tradition of going to boarding school in Pennsylvania. The continuous decision is rooted in avoiding the state’s weak quality of education.

“I’m used to it at this point, being away from home,” Wetzel said. “My children will have to go too. It’s a legacy thing.”

Since preschool, she commuted across state lines for school, so moving west for the first time excited her. She has long come to Colorado with her family to ski.

Originally deciding between the universities of Colorado and Vermont, she committed to Boulder seeking a new landscape and calmer climate than the East Coast provides.

Her interest in Boulder peaked when her friend informed her of the city’s 300 days of sunshine.

“I know I wanted to leave the East for college since I was first sent away in high school,” she said.

She says so far, the decision has built her an impactful college experience.

“I met my best friends in my dorm last year,” she said. “I couldn’t be happier here.”