Stephen, a proud Utah Valley native, cherishes his pioneer and Hispanic roots. He followed in his grandfather’s footsteps by serving a mission in Guatemala. After his mission, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Brigham Young University and even pursued a PhD in the same field for a year. But life had other plans, and he left his PhD program to become a business analyst for seven years while learning software engineering. Now, he’s a software engineer and a student mentor at BYU Broadcasting.

As a young man, Stephen discovered a passion for mentoring through his involvement in a Boy Scout junior leader training program. This experience sparked a desire within him to work with youth. He held the position of 11-year-old scoutmaster for seven years and currently serves as an advisor to his ward’s deacon’s quorum.

Stephen’s journey is filled with several years of misdiagnosis and misunderstanding of his mental health and personal experiences. These experiences fuel his passion for creating a safe space for self-definition and exploration of identity within the framework of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Stephen and his wife Tiffany happily reside in Utah Valley with their two amazing boys.