true02/16/2026Chasing a dream, close to homeDanica Nelson was a nontraditional student in a nontraditional school. She came to The University of Baltimore at 17. At UBalt, with its average undergraduate age of 31, she was in classrooms unlike anything she could have imagined. It didn’t take long, though, for Danica to find her community. Student StoriesDanica Nelson sits in a chair, laughing while looking off camera. I really have been able to learn more than if I were, for example, in a class of 200 some students. I feel like I'm getting more out of my education being here.Danica NelsonB.S. in Criminal Justice studentCollege of Public AffairsStudent Stories