Having grown up in Columbia, she is a 1975 graduate of Hickman High School. Ms. Leyva received her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Southern Methodist University in 1977 through their accelerated three-year degree program. During her college years, she was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa and spent a semester abroad in the SMU-in-Spain program in Madrid. She then worked as a legal secretary for Carlyle Foley in Columbia from 1978-1983 before attending law school.