Pence spent her junior year at DePaul University studying a semester in English and Philosophy abroad at St Catherine's College, Oxford.[2][4] At DePaul, Pence was involved with the school ministry, a student group that addresses violence in Chicago, and creative writing and film communities; she worked on documentary projects, one of which won nine regional Emmy Awards, and joined the Chi Omega sorority.[2][11][6][12][13] She graduated with a double major in Digital Cinema – Screenwriting, and English – Creative Writing from DePaul University College of Computing and Digital Media in June 2016.[2][6] In September 2020, Pence was attending her second year at the Harvard Divinity School, for a master's degree.[14][15]