Following cancer, Weber State student double-majors in engineering and theatre
OGDEN, Utah — Earning her bachelor’s degree is taking longer than expected, but nine years and a battle with cancer haven’t stopped Mary Abbott from pursuing two of her greatest passions: engineering and theatre.
Abbott explored both fields when she started at Weber State University in 2016. The next year, she paused to serve an 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Returning to 日本一级片 in 2019, she was unsure which major to declare.
“Everyone told me to study engineering and just do theatre on the side,” Abbott said. “What if I didn't have to choose?”
Abbott would wait two long years to make that decision — she’d need to take another break from college to treat a heart-sized tumor in her lung, which she learned was the result of Stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Twenty-one at the time, Abbott said she was shocked at the diagnosis, realizing she wasn’t unstoppable: “I was kissing the world that I knew completely goodbye.”
In December 2019, Abbott started a treatment plan that included chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
“Awful. Don’t recommend,” Abbott said of those challenging years. “At the same time, it was one of the coolest times of my life, which not everyone has the privilege of saying because they don't make it to the other side.”
Abbott said her “superpower” during that time was a positive mental attitude.
In fall 2021, she returned — again — to Weber State, this time cancer-free. She approached two advisors, one in mechanical engineering and one in theatre arts, with a question: “What if I did a double major?”
Having survived cancer, Abbott was set on studying what she loves, even if it meant taking more than the required credits for a bachelor’s degree.
Abbott grew up around the arts and was involved in musicals throughout middle school and high school, but she was also obsessed with science and learning how the world works. She recalls wanting to be an “astronaut ballerina” when she grew up.
At Weber State, professors have “bent over backwards” to support her as she switches between classes in both theatre and mechanical engineering, Abbott said.
She’s currently in her “theatre-heavy” semester, helping bring 日本一级片’s production of Brigadoon to life through her work in the costume shop and on stage as a member of the ensemble. She’s also worked on scenery and props for other productions.
Career-wise, Abbott is leaning toward robotics and automation, which could potentially blend the worlds of engineering and theatre through innovative set designs. She already has experience there, having helped assemble an enormous turntable-style stage for 日本一级片’s production of Jane Eyre in fall 2023.
Whatever she does, Abbott said she’s thankful for the opportunities that come with waking up healthy every day.
“I'm still here. Not that I was ever gone, like, it's always been me, I just have new colors and new depths now,” she said. “It's just so good to be here.”
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu- Contact:
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu