WSU Alumni Magazine | SPRING 2022 Unwavering Dedication News for Alumni & Friends TO STUDENT SUCCESS With decades of experience in all medical imaging areas, School of Radiologic Sciences faculty know what it takes to succeed in clinical settings, and how to move up the career ladder. We’re passionate about passing our knowledge on to you. Whether you’re starting your education or returning to earn your Master of Science (MSRS) for innovation and improvement, to join our radiologist assistant (RA) program, or for invasive cardiology opportunities, you have a home at Weber. We put teaching first. We forge strong connections. At Weber, we know how to challenge you, and we care enough to do it. WILDCAT WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Vol. 27, No. 1, Spring 2022 The professors are amazing and really care about the students’ success. It is a well-organized program created to help students reach their full potential. — Taylor W., MSRS graduate EDITOR IN CHIEF Jaime Winston CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Allison Barlow Hess Anna Burleson Karin Hurst AS ’79 Jessica Kokesh John Kowalewski Gregory Noel Juancarlos Santisteban BA ’06 Shaylee Stevens AS ’20, BS ’21 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Allison Barlow Hess Nancy B. Collinwood BS ’94 Rebecca Gibson AS ’09 John Kowalewski Betsy Mennell Amber Robson BS ’05, MPC ’17 Jill Walker BS ’06, MA ’12 CREATIVE DIRECTOR Matthew Zacher BFA ’11 DESIGNERS Tara Allred BS ’19 Emily Caraballo MED ’21 Antonio Moya BFA ’12 Matthew Zacher BFA ’11 STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Benjamin Zack CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dan Bingham Robert Casey Briana Scroggins Comments and questions may be sent to Wildcat, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4025, Ogden UT 84408-4025. The editor may also be contacted by phone: 801-626-7396 or email: magazine@weber.edu. Send address changes to Advancement Services, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4018, Ogden UT 84408-4018, call 801-626-6138 or email giving@weber.edu to update your records. WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2021-22 Kearston Cutrubus, Chair Karla K. Bergeson, Vice Chair Brent Bishop Amanda K. Covington Louenda H. Downs BS ’78 Karen White Fairbanks Benjamin D. Ferney AS ’19, BS ’21 Curtis D. Funk BS ’11 Donald J. Salazar Jon Keith Titus BS ’03 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Advancement Services, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4018, Ogden UT 84408-4018. weber.edu/wsumagazine | alumni.weber.edu weber.edu/radsci CONTENTS WEBER WATCH Anna Burleson, Allison Barlow Hess, John Kowalewski, Shaylee Stevens AS ’20, BS ’21, Jaime Winston MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS 14 Ballet Folklórico is a home for WSU students, and its members like family. 15 Weber Watch 36 Inside Maynard Dixon’s Utah home; strengthening equity, diversity and inclusion; an MLS professor supporting the community with his knowledge, and more 20 40 Home of an Wildcat Inbox Readers share Stewart Bell Tower memories and tell us about their dirty jobs. A Lasting Gift Legacy donors forge strong connections that benefit students for years to come. 29 Honoring 11 outstanding individuals for their contributions to the campus and community Spilling the Dirt Many WSU alumni have careers that get their hands dirty, from remodelling homes to playing in the mud with preschoolers. 28 52nd Annual WSU Salutes Class Notes 42 American Master Maynard Dixon masterfully captured landscapes and cultures of the American West throughout the early 20th century. Considered by many to be the region’s premiere artist, Dixon surrounded himself with the natural beauty found in much of Courageous Conversations his work by moving to Mt. Carmel in southern Utah in 1939. Regarding racial trauma, a letter from two Weber State Counseling & Psychological Services Center therapists WSU alumni Susan and Paul Bingham BA ’67 preserve On vtehre! Co Dixon’s Utah property through the nonprofit Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts, named for the symbol found on many of Dixon’s early paintings. The Binghams offer tours of Dixon’s home and studio, and host regional artists. WSU Alumni Magazine | SPRING 2022 Updates on the careers, achievements and activities of Weber State alumni “My artwork was inspired by the beautiful and colorful aesthetic of Ballet Folklórico.” Guests may also visit Dixon’s gravesite, and see high- — Antonio Moya, BFA ’12 Artist/Designer came to the picturesque property to “find his peace.” In 1997, quality reproductions of his work. “It’s a living history museum,” said Paul, adding that Dixon Paul and Susan bought and restored the Mt. Carmel property, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, visit thunderbirdfoundation.com. @weberstate @weberstate @WeberStateU @WeberStateU Photos by Dan Bingham Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts WEBER WATCH WEBER WATCH On-stage Sensations Gov. Honors WSU Alumni Performers Commanding on stage, humble in person, grateful for every WSU Commits to Equity,Diversity and Inclusion A new Weber State division is working to improve the university’s diversity efforts opportunity and generously giving back to the community are In January 2022, WSU President Brad Mortensen announced the creation characteristics that led two Weber State alumni to receive the of the division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion with Adrienne Andrews, 2021 Governor’s Mansion Artist Award. former university assistant vice president for diversity and chief diversity Gov. Spencer Cox honored Ta’u Pupu’a, football star turned opera officer, serving as vice president. singer, and Alicia Washington, a 2010 musical theatre graduate, The division advances the goal of “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion,” who, along with her sister, Camille, founded Good Company outlined in the university’s latest strategic plan, Weber State Amplified, Theatre in Ogden. which affirms the university’s commitment to become an Emerging Pupu’a is a world-renowned operatic tenor whose unconventional Hispanic Serving Institution by increasing the percentage of students who path included a contract with the NFL. He grew up in Utah after identify as Hispanic or Latinx descent to 15% by 2025. his family moved to Salt Lake City from the Kingdom of Tonga Programs, centers and offices formerly housed in Student Affairs and the when he was a child. A football scholarship paved Pupu’a’s way as President’s Office help make up the new division, including the following: a Wildcat standout in the ’90s, where he also planned to earn his His education was interrupted when the Cleveland Browns • Office of Diversity — Chief Diversity Officer drafted him in 1995 as a defensive tackle. However, an • LGBT Resource Center unexpected injury early in his career pushed him to follow his Kanawa, who helped him get an audition at the prestigious • Diversity & Inclusive Programs Along with aligning programs that support students, the Equity, Diversity other passion: opera. Pupu’a moved to New York where he met his mentor, Kiri Te • Center for Multicultural Excellence • Center for Diversity & Unity bachelor of music degree. and Inclusion division provides a central point of leadership for equity, Adrienne Andrews, vice president of the new division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, congratulates a WSU graduate. diversity and inclusion initiatives related to faculty, staff, curriculum, human resources and community. Juilliard School of Music. He attended on a full scholarship and graduated in 2011. Pupu’a now performs around the world. As the 2021 Weber State commencement speaker, he told graduates, “Wildcats, our greatest capacity to change the world is Ta’u Pupu’a (Above), Camille and Alicia Washington (Below) Today, WSU has almost 50 academic departments that our capacity to change our own minds about the world.” cover a broad range of disciplines, with many of the The powerhouse sister duo of Alicia and Camille Washington co- original 12 serving as a foundation for current areas. direct Good Company Theatre in downtown Ogden. It is the only independent theater in the Mountain West created, owned and WEBER COLLEGE ORIGINAL DEPARTMENTS operated by Black women. 1. Department of Art Work at a small production company is often immense, but also 2. Department of Dramatic Art immensely satisfying. Even during a worldwide pandemic, Alicia and Camille created innovative ways to enhance the Ogden art 3. Department of Economics and Sociology scene, such as “The Window Seat Sessions.” Each weekend for four weeks, one or two performers presented 20-minute sets, three times a night, just inside the studio’s five floor-to-ceiling 4. Department of Education and Psychology 7. Department of Music 8. Department of History and Political Science 9. Department of Home Economics 10. Department of Modern Languages and Latin windows. Good Company set up five seats on the sidewalk outside Weber State is celebrating 100 years of departments, with the building, where five audience members per performance got a 2022 marking the centennial anniversary of the school front-row seat in front of each windowpane. changing its name to Weber College. Alicia also serves on the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & In 1922, the name change coincided with becoming a junior Humanities Advisory Board. She co-created Ogden’s Town Hall college, and 12 academic departments were created. While Conversations on Race and volunteers with The Inclusion Center, many disciplines had already been conducting classes prior a Salt Lake City-based human-relations organization dedicated to to the change, the event signified the formal organization of Did you graduate from any of these departments during overcoming hatred, bias and exclusionary practices. courses into designated departments. the Weber College years? Share your memories with us “Our passion at Good Company Theatre is to bring the community Throughout the years, departments have evolved and together,” Alicia said. “We share this award with all those who changed as needed. 5. Department of English Language and Literature 6. Department of Mathematics 11. Department of Science 12. Department of Theology at magazine@weber.edu. support our love and commitment to the arts.” 6 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 7 WEBER WATCH WSUAA Programs WEBER WATCH March Forward 2021 was a year of growth for Weber State’s Alumni Association (WSUAA) WSU Alumni Board of Directors member Amir Jackson New programs and Continuing its outreach efforts, WSUAA launched the Mentoring initiatives encouraged Alumni Program & Scholarship program (MAPS), a new resource community engagement, to help WSU students find mentors in the community. The new helped students connect initiative is designed to help students achieve their academic with mentors and created goals. The program received 39 student applicants for its first a lasting legacy of year. As the program grows more alumni mentors and students shared stories. will be added. WSU Alumni Board of In the fall 2021 semester, five students were selected and Directors member and matched with mentors who had shared interests and academic founder of Nurture the backgrounds. Each student received a $2,000 ’CATapult Creative Mind, a creative scholarship to help them reach graduation. They’re encouraged arts program for Ogden to meet with their mentors regularly to ask questions and children, Amir Jackson, discuss their educational progress. WSU Hosts launched the Make Ogden WSUAA also undertook the Alumni Oral History Project in 2021, One in six women and one in 25 men experience rape or Davies said there can be a lot Purple campaign with collecting thousands of personal stories from alumni all across attempted rape during their lifetime in Utah, according to of shame and guilt surrounding EVENTS WSUAA to promote a the country. The submissions, which include everything from the Utah Department of Health, and nearly one in three sexual violence. “But just having Take Back the Night college town culture fond memories of campus life to touching tributes for beloved women will experience some form of sexual violence someone say, ‘I believe you,’ April 1 in Ogden. The initiative encouraged the community Sexual Assault Awareness Month Start By Believing Day faculty and staff, will be made into a commemorative printed during their lives. Sexual assault is the only violent crime can go so far in someone else’s to demonstrate Wildcat pride by finding creative ways to oral history and alumni directory. The book was completed in where Utah’s rate is above the national average. healing,” she said. incorporate purple into their businesses, homes and activities. spring 2022. Throughout the month of April, Weber State will host a Denim Day, a global movement to “Weber State is as meaningful to Ogden as the railroad, the WSUAA plans to continue building connections with alumni variety of events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month support survivors, is a reference mountains and the historic downtown district,” Jackson said. and the community in 2022. to help bring attention to the topic, provide prevention to the day the Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape “It is our goal to provide ways for education and support those who have been affected by conviction in 1998, citing the victim’s tight jeans she must our community to engage with the sexual assault. have helped the person who raped her remove, thereby university,” said Nancy Collinwood Events include Take Back the Night on April 1, Start by implying consent. BS ’94, Alumni Relations executive Believing Day on April 6 and Denim Day on April 27, as “We use that as a way to talk about that it doesn't matter director. “By offering a variety of well as Safe@Weber workshops and a Sister Circle event. where you were or what you were doing, there still is no WSU Women’s Center director Paige Davies said Take excuse for sexual assault,” Davies said. Back the Night, part of a global movement to raise Safe@Weber workshops held throughout the month sexual assualt awareness, is usually the most well- will teach attendees about healthy relationships, attended event. The event will highlight the experiences consent and communicating boundaries. The Sister of survivors with a rally and a march through Circle: Self Care Affair will be an opportunity for downtown Ogden. attendees to share resources and talk about self care “It can be empowering and healing for survivors to just for sexual assault survivors as well as in other aspects yell and be around other people speaking out,” she said. of life, like finals week. Start by Believing Day, a nationwide event signed into law The Weber State Police Department, Affirmative Action/ by the Utah Legislature, focuses on believing survivors of Equal Opportunity Office and a variety of other campus sexual violence. WSU will host a social media campaign, and community partners collaborate on Sexual Assault posting photos of faculty and staff with signs saying they Awareness Month events as well. “It was and is important to me that the university become as culturally significant to every community member as the winter snow. A strong college culture benefits WSU, but also encourages a strong economic, educational, health and entertainment boost for the whole community.” The campaign launched on Oct. 1, 2021, coinciding with Weber programs and experiences, the entire State’s Homecoming Week celebrations, boosting community Weber State family can get involved engagement in the festivities. The grassroots efforts included and stay connected.” the Purple Paw Parade, where guests dressed their pets in WSU apparel for a stroll around Ogden on Oct. 16. April 6 Denim Day April 27 have committed to believing survivors. Those looking for resources can contact the Weber State Women’s Center or visit weber.edu/safeatweber. 8 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 9 WEBER WATCH WEBER WATCH A Profound Interest in What Makes You Sick Expands Success Gino Moncada joined the 157th graduating class of Weber State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in professional sales. He credits Department of Medical “We did over 17,000 tests,” he said. Wildcat Scholars for getting him on the right track as a nervous, first- Laboratory Sciences chair Alongside health sciences professor Jim Hutchins and generation, first-year student. Matthew Nicholaou’s interest in microbiology professor Daniel Clark, Nicholaou taught infections can quickly lead to a “Wildcat Scholars supports students who sometimes go under the radar,” a course on the immunology of COVID-19, primarily fascinating, insightful, “wait, let Moncada said. “They are like every great mentor I’ve ever had. They saw for non-science majors, in spring 2021. The professors me find a notebook” discussion. the current version of me, but they also saw the future version of me.” explained how the immune system works, how When asked how antiretroviral the virus spreads, and why particular public health therapy can help an HIV measures are in place. positive woman give birth to a child without the infection, he explained that “It essentially makes people at risk…almost immune to the disease because the drugs are present in such a quantity that the virus can’t ever really establish that chronic infection.” “WEBER PROVIDES A DOORWAY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO MAKE ADVANCEMENTS IN THEIR LIVES AND CAREERS” Nicholaou, who was 12 when he lost his father to In his medical laboratory sciences classes, Nicholaou the virus. creates opportunities for students to conduct their own “That was during the heart of the AIDS epidemic,” he research and present their findings at symposiums. said. “It was a difficult time in our country, but, for me, He also trains students in using the latest medical there was a silver lining. It gave me my drive in life.” laboratory technology, including the CRISPR gene technology, he worked at the Children’s Hospital of editing tool, which can be used to target and kill harmful microbial infections. Philadelphia for four years in clinical microbiology Recognizing his dedication to students and the before attending graduate school at the University community, the Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health of Pittsburgh where he earned his doctoral degree in Professions named Nicholaou the Dumke Endowed public health. There, he studied the side effects of HIV Chair for 2021. With the recognition, his department infection and how highly active antiretroviral therapy will receive $30,000 over three years. Nicholaou plans to (HAART) impacts metabolism, lipid levels and other use the funds to update lab instrumentation and reach health factors. more students in rural communities through distance At Weber State, he teaches students about clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics, education, including those in Utah, New Hampshire and Arkansas. immunology, biostatistics and laboratory research In fall 2022, the department will launch a post- to diagnose illnesses. baccalaureate certificate that will allow students with Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, his vast knowledge of infections made him a key member of Weber State’s COVID-19 Task Force. While the Annie Taylor an undergraduate degree and the correct prerequisite science credits to gain the skills they need to work in a clinical laboratory within nine months to a year. Dee School of Nursing led a team of volunteers to “Weber provides a doorway for a lot of people to make administer COVID-19 tests on campus, Nicholaou led advancements in their lives and careers,” he said, “and the team interpreting the results. our department is a perfect example of that.” weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 structured way for students to transition to college. What began as a onesemester seminar course for a group of 13 students has grown to a full Wildcat Scholars provides a learning community where students take classes together to build camaraderie and strong relationships with their advisor and faculty. Their first year of study includes new co-requisite English and math courses, allowing students, who enter the university below college-level placement, to finish their composition and math requirements in one year. Serving many first-generation, low-income and BIPOC students, the program is helping close achievement gaps and improving equity in higher education. “Getting to that milestone in the first year gives them a much higher are on the table, HIV/AIDS is an important topic for After earning his bachelor’s degree in medical In 2016, Weber State created Wildcat Scholars as a clearer, more year of academic study with eight courses for nearly 200 students. While all infection and immunology-related topics 10 Wildcat Scholars likelihood of continuing to graduation,” said Amy Huntington, program director. numbers game football 54 The number of games defensive tackle Jared Schiess BS ’19, MHA ’21 played for the Wildcats, eclipsing the previous team record of 54 set by Jonah Williams BS ’19. 15-8 The Wildcats’ record in conference play this season, enroute to a share of the Big Sky Regular Season Championship for the second consecutive season. Weber State earned the right to host its first ever Big Sky Conference Tournament and national postseason tournament. 13-3 mvp Final score of the fifth-set Big Sky Championship match won by Northern Colorado, to end the Wildcats’ home winning streak, and 2021 championship dreams. Volleyball’s final overall record, after advancing to the quarterfinals in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The Wildcats season ended when they fell to the UTEP Miners in five sets in El Paso. Sophomore outside hitter Dani Nay was named Big Sky Conference MVP for the 2021 season and named to the allconference first team. Teammates Rylin Adams, Ashlyn Power and Sam Schiess were also named to the all-conference first team. 22-10 track & field Weber State’s husband and wife duo Christian and Summer Allen both earned All-America honors at the NCAA Cross Country Championships held in Tallahassee, Florida, in November, giving Christian his second All-America honor as a Wildcat and Summer her second All-America honor in 2021. She was seventh at the NCAA Championships in March 2021, the highest finish in Weber State history. In addition, both set WSU school records at the first indoor track meet of the season in December. Summer posted a time of 15:56.45 in the 5,000 meters to set a new school record, the third fastest time in Big Sky history. Not to be out done, Christian also set a Weber State record in the 5,000 meters as he posted a time of 13:36.50. That time broke the school record set by Seth Pilkington BS ’08, MAcc ’09 in 2006 by 15 seconds. The football teams’ final record in 2021, including 5–3 vs. Big Sky opponents, clinching a school record seventh straight winning season. soccer 1-0 27 Consecutive matches the women’s volleyball team won at home in Swenson Gymnasium, the longest streak in the nation. 6-5 59 WILDCAT ATHLETICS’ FALL/WINTER SPORTS BY THE NUMBERS volleyball Number of games Jay Hill has won to become Weber State’s winningest football coach in program history. The milestone came in a 38–7 win over Cal Poly this fall, surpassing Dave Arslanian’s previous mark. Hill finished the 2021 season with a lifetime record of 58–36. Final score of the women’s soccer loss to Montana in the Big Sky Championship game. 6-3-0 4 Number of Wildcats named to the Big Sky All-Tournament team, including Morgan Furmaniak, Sadie Newson, Taylor Slack and Yira Yoggerst. The Wildcats’ record in conference play this fall, prior to advancing to the championship game in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. basketball 8-0 The men’s basketball team started the season 8–0 for only the second time in school history. The 1985–86 squad opened 10–0. 500 300 Head coach Randy Rahe won his 300th game by defeating Green Bay 68–58. Rahe is the winningest coach in Weber State and Big Sky Conference history. Number of wins men’s basketball has had in the Dee Events Center since it opened in 1977. The Wildcats reached the milestone Dec. 11, 2021, with a 82–36 win over Maine-Fort Kent. Women’s softball, the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky again in 2022, aims to earn another conference title this spring. Find tickets at weberstatesports.com. Ballet Folklórico is a home, & its members like family. By Jessica Kokesh BALLET FOLKLÓRICO PERFORMER Michelle Nuñez Zeballos 14 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Since 2014, Ballet Folklórico has been a place where Hispanic, Latino and Latinx students students can find themselves at Weber State. The ballet, which performs multiple times per year on campus, in the Ogden community and in Salt Lake City, aims to help students develop leadership skills through mentorship, academic excellence and retaining a strong cultural identity. “I feel like it’s a place where you feel more close to home,” said Mata, a senior applying for the nursing program at Weber State. “It helps us connect more to what our culture is and who we are and where we come from. I really love the people and what we do.” Mata has been a part of the ballet for 13 years, initially joining The setting November sun streamed through the windows of the upper floor of The Monarch, when it was an initiative at the junior high level, and is now a leader of the group at WSU. Mata was born in Mexico and remembers watching folk dances there during local holidays and festivals before her family immigrated to Ogden. “I was never able to perform, so having the opportunity to do it backlighting the members of Weber State University’s Ballet Folklórico as here and teach others is great, because I can connect back to my they put finishing touches on their traditional attire and makeup for the night’s country and where I was born and my early childhood,” she said. Graciela Duenaz performance. Leticia Mata, her face painted white and dotted with multicolor jewels in the traditional Catrina design, stood patiently as another dancer adjusted her floral hair piece while others smoothed their layers of skirts and WSU Ballet Folklórico meets twice a week to practice shawls. Hundreds had gathered for Ogden’s Día de Los Muertos celebration, at the Shepherd Union Wildcat Theater throughout the filing into rows of white chairs to watch the dancers and musical performances school year and in the summer months. from Mexican artists for the night. Just before Ballet Folklórico’s performance It started as a student group at Mount Ogden Junior High began, advisor Mónica Rodríguez Mesa gathered the dancers in a circle School, and students in that original group later brought and declared, “We’re going to be great!” it to Ogden High School, and then on to Weber State. Irimelva Najera Reyes, who has taught Mexican folklore And they were. dancing to the Ogden community for 20 years, instructs the WSUBF in aspects of dance while Rodríguez Mesa serves as staff coordinator and advisor. The ballet has been financially supported for the last five years by the Alan E. and Jeanne N. Hall Endowment for Community Leticia Mata, Outreach and the Center for Multicultural Excellence. 2021–2022 BALLET FOLKLÓRICO BALLET LEADER The ballet primarily focuses on Mexican dance, but they’ve also performed numbers from other Latin American countries. “There’s the belonging — the need of discovering your heritage, to connect with your roots, especially for those Hispanic, Latino or Latinx students that are born in America — that have somehow been removed from their culture because of political and socioeconomic factors,” Rodríguez Mesa said. “When they come, they discover that there is more to it than a dance.” …once I found the ballet, I really found a place where I can be myself. — Guadalupe Garcia 16 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 17 — Leticia Mata Students’ curiosity is often sparked by the ballet’s public “I was a pretty shy, quiet person [before the ballet],” said performances. Guadalupe Garcia, a senior graphic design Mata, who gained the confidence to speak her mind, joke major at WSU and ballet leader, was drawn to the ballet after with friends and encourage others to throw off the fear to seeing them perform while she was in high school. perform. “There’s so many skills that we learn… things “I was like ‘Oh, that’s so pretty. I didn’t know they had that we’re going to be using long term in our careers and just at Weber,’” Garcia said. “So, I made it my mission to find out in our daily life.” where they were and where they practiced. Thanks to that, Rodríguez Mesa’s voice caught and she became teary when I got to know Mónica and everyone else. I see them more as she discussed seeing the success of WSUBF students over the family and friends, and the organization as a safe space.” years, especially those students who were battling depression Aside from dancing, WSUBF’s primary goal is to serve or experiencing personal struggles. as a space to help members develop their academic and “To see that persistence year after year, in accomplishing a professional skills. Many of the dancers are first-generation degree that they thought was impossible for them and their students, so it also serves as a way to network and learn families… and then they say to you, ‘I never realized I had the ins and outs of going to college, like asking advice about a brilliant future in front of me,’” she said. “They absolutely classes or financial support through scholarships. empower themselves.” “It’s really hard, your first semester as a first-generation WSUBF is always open to new members and no prior dancing student, because you don’t know what you’re doing,” Garcia experience is required. Non-WSU members are also welcome said. “You’re just kind of floating around, trying to pass your to join the ballet. classes, so once I found the ballet, I really found a place where I can be myself.” For more information, visit weber.edu/multicultural/wsuballetnew.html. Both Garcia and Mata said they’ve learned how to work as a team, developed communication skills, and improved their self-confidence as leaders in the ballet. Andrés Rodriguez Peralta; Laura Calvillo; Ashley Andersen; Fernando Martinez; Leticia Mata; Graciela Duenaz; Guadalupe Garcia; Michelle Nuñez Zeballos; Maria Jose Mantilla; former WSU assistant vice president for student affairs, Enrique Romo Not to Miss! Experience Ballet Folklórico live this spring. • WSU International Banquet, Saturday, April 9, 2022 • Living Traditions Festival, Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 21, 2022 Visit the WSU Ballet Folklorico page at weber.edu/multicultural for more information. 18 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Weber State prepares many alumni for careers that definitely require a shower at the end of the day, from remodeling homes to treating sewage water to rolling in mud with preschoolers. Those making a mess with their careers are driven by passion for their work as they improve the world around them, even if they get their hands dirty. 20 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 By Jaime Winston MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DEMI PARKER One of SimpleLife’s philosophies is that teachers should participate in activities, too, so it’s not uncommon for Parker MUD PIE CHEF AND TODDLER WRANGLER to join the muddy fun. Bachelor of Science in Ear ly Childhood Education and THE JOB: Demi Parker recalls Elementary Education, 201 9 “I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty,” she said. Last year was especially muddy during the school’s summer camp. “Miss Jenny had just removed her grass to put in new sod, getting wrapped so we said ‘Let’s take advantage of all this dirt.’ We turned up in the stories her elementary school teacher Lynette the sprinklers on and let it get muddy, and we all jumped Grow BS ’75 read to the class, changing her voice to fit in the mud and played together, totally covering our each character. bodies in mud.” Nearly 20 years later, Parker was working her shift at Kids can also get messy in the school’s attached art Rooster’s Brewing in Ogden, when Grow came in for a studio, which includes ceramics and a kiln. Of course, meal. Despite years gone by and changes in Parker’s the school also teaches kids to clean up after the fun height and appearance, Grow remembered her of making the mess. student fondly. “The fact she remembered my name and the year I was in WHY SHE LOVES IT: her class, I was like ‘Wow, that is incredible,’” Parker said. “I’ve taught so many children, and I’ve made so many Inspired by Grow and a recent stint as a kids’ ski meaningful relationships,” Parker said. “It’s amazing to instructor at Snowbasin, Parker decided to change her see them grow.” life and pursue a degree in education. While attending WSU, she taught at Mountain Kids CADY POORMAN Preschool, which is directed by a friend she met while PAINT, GROUT AND METAL SHAVINGS ARRANGER working at Rooster’s. When that friend decided to close her school, they both moved on to SimpleLife, a nature- and play-based preschool run by teacher Jenny Rogers. Along with playing outdoors, kids plant and harvest produce THE JOB: from the school’s garden, feed the school’s chickens and As a fine arts major, collect eggs. Like most 3- to 5-year-olds, those attending SimpleLife need to be trained not to share their germs. “We’re big on teaching the children proper hand washing, nose blowing, coughing, sneezing, etcetera,” Parker said. studied many art forms, from sculpture to printmaking, and learned the importance of making art with meaning, not just something that “looked cool,” from mentors like associate professor Joshua Winegar. “I also learned a lot about myself,” she said. “I consider my time studying art at Weber State some of the best and mostmeaningful years of my life.” While novices in personal hygiene, the children are given other avenues to get dirty, the most popular of which is “the mud kitchen.” “It’s like a play kitchen, but with mud,” Parker said. “We allow the children to mix dirt and water, and they put it in pots; then they can add rocks and leaves and make their creations.” The mud kitchen is also stocked with spoons, potato mashers and other tools for creating imaginary gourmet meals from mud. weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Photography, 2014 Cady Poorman WHAT MAKES IT DIRTY: 22 Bachelor of Fine Arts in While WSU felt like home, it took Poorman some time to find her place in the job market after graduation. Working in jobs ranging from waitressing to graphic design, she eventually realized there isn’t just one place for her. Today, she is a portrait photographer, Airbnb host, home interior designer, home seller, and she works in her husband Robbie Hogge’s residential remodel business, Black and Tan Homes, along with their business partner Tyson Goodson. As of 2022, they had flipped five homes and worked on many other remodel jobs for clients. Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 23 DIRT DISCOVERER s Master of Busines 18; Bachelor of 20 n, Administratio s in Archeology, Integrated Studie thropology, 1996 Sociology and An WHAT MAKES IT DIRTY: Poorman is frequently covered in paint or tile mud. “Or sometimes grout, which is a weird one,” she said. “It (arrowheads) and grinding stones (used for processing foods such as pine nuts and corn) that were likely utilized by the will come off of your skin when you wash it, but not your Fremont people around A.D. 1200. fingernails, so I’ll just have weird, unhealthy-gray-looking “I really get to see this state in a way that most people nails for a few days.” wouldn’t,” she said. At times, the messes can also be hazardous. Unique and rare items are often brought to the Utah “I’ve gotten way more random substances in my eyes than Museum of Natural History to be used for research or I would like to admit, including a metal shaving that got in museum displays. stuck in my eye and immediately started to rust into my eye,” Poorman said. “That was a fun doctor visit.” WHAT MAKES IT DIRTY: Her dirtiest moment, though, came while updating the home “When we do excavations, it’s disgusting,” Pagano said. she shares with her husband. Taking showers in the couple’s “You get dirty on all of them. Just when you’re shaking geodesic dome home led to a flooded basement. Soon, the couple realized it was a septic tank problem. “So we had to get the septic tank pumped and emptied out,” she said. “When they pulled the lid off, it was solid black SANDY PAGANO sludge to the brim. We then had to completely re-dig the a screen full of dirt, and that dust cloud envelopes you, you get it in your ears, your nose, your eyes.” Her dirtiest dig took place under Interstate 15 in South Salt Lake, before road improvements to prepare for the influx of visitors during the 2002 Winter Olympics. drainage field. It was a very big learning experience.” THE JOB: “They found a historic dump while constructing the freeway, She shares her messy moments, as well as before and after With her BIS, Sandy Pagano went to work in archeology, and we ended up working overnight out there using backhoes photographs of homes, on Instagram. taking on positions as an archeological technician at and just swinging up the grossest mud,” she said. “That was a Utah State University and the Center for Environmental really good soupy mess.” Archeology, and for 17 years as field director at Ogden The site revealed a garbage dump used by Salt Lake residents archeology business Sagebrush Consultants. Now with her between the 1910s and 1930s. Pagano and her crew wore MBA, she works as a project archaeologist and field supervisor paper suits to keep their clothes clean as they went through for Commonwealth Heritage Group, which conducts surveys the garbage. “There was some neat stuff in there,” she said. and excavations before construction projects as well as for “You could pull newspapers out and actually still read them.” “People are just stoked to see a construction company that’s flipping homes actually care a lot about the final product and put a lot of thought and effort into making a home look and feel beautiful, unique and timeless,” she said. WHY SHE LOVES IT: Designing the finishes of a home remodel is like one big art project. Poorman enjoys picking colors, combining textures and creating a certain feeling in the home. Additionally, she enjoys preserving a piece of history. “I find it really sad when beautiful, original handwork gets removed, painted over or just not cared for in the way it deserves,” she said. “Old homes tell a story of the past, and it’s important that we, as a residential remodel business, do our part in preserving that rich history.” agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and Utah Department of Wildlife Resources. WHY SHE LOVES IT: Sites are defined as localities that include artifacts over 50 Pagano loves making discoveries. years old and are protected through regulations laid out in “People don’t have any idea what’s in their Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. backyard,” she said. She might be able to drive to a site, or it could require a She also loves the mix of being outside, 15-mile hike, hauling archaeological equipment with her hiking, camping, surveying and crew along the way. On remote projects, the crew often excavating, and completing reports camps overnight. in her air-conditioned office. Usually jobs do not require an excavation, but they are In 2009, Odd Fellows Hall in Salt Lake required if a site will be damaged or destroyed by a City, built in 1891, was relocated to proposed project. make way for the city’s new federal Her most recent excavation was at a golf course near Jordanelle Reservoir, where her team found projectile points courthouse. Historic artifacts from Pagano and her team’s excavation of the site are now displayed in the Moss Courthouse in Salt Lake City. 24 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 25 RICHARD AND JENNIFER MICKELSEN THE JOB: Jennifer and Richard Mickelsen know what you flush. They met at WSU while working in the lab with chemistry professor Edward Walker BA ’76. After graduation, they worked in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. They have several patents from their EWATER T S A W : D R A RICH NNOISSEUR O C T N A T U L POL ce in research. They opened RJ Analytical, using their expertise to test the potency and purity of products cien 91 try, 19 lor of S Bache chemis d n a s matic mathe JENNIFER: ALGAL BLOOM, GREASE AND SOLID WASTE DETECTIVE “I have certainly learned a great deal from the program. It has helped to round out areas that I didn’t even understand I had a gap in.” Associate of Scien ce, 1989; Bachelor of Arts in microbiology with a minor in ch emistry, 1991 for businesses using natural products, such as supplement companies. Then, in 2000, Richard started a second career in wastewater while Jen cared for their four children. First, he worked for the Central Weber Sewer Improvement District and also advised Plain City’s wastewater treatment plant. He later ran the treatment labs for Brigham City and then Provo. Now, he serves as district general manager for Timpanogos Special Service District, which treats about 20 million gallons of wastewater per day for northern Utah County. The district removes more than 98% of pollutants from the wastewater, which flows into Utah Lake. “You flush the toilet, and all that stuff just goes away,” Richard said. “People don’t even think about it.” come through the water to his facility. Through the treatment process, many of these solids are removed. “And it doesn’t always smell great,” Jennifer said. Oils and grease people put down their drains are often much grosser than the solids. However, one solid — disinfectant wipes flushed by a local convenience store that clogged a sewer line — sticks out in Jennifer’s mind. “They were a foot wide by 14 inches long. They don’t dissolve When she pulled a manhole cover to remove them, she recalls “big clogs of these wipes with everything you can imagine backing up behind them.” WHY THEY LOVE IT: sugars,” “floatables,” and “poop,” the district removes “It’s very rewarding that we’re actually doing something to nutrients that otherwise allow algae to grow. clean the environment,” Richard said. “Everybody talks about Jennifer spent most of her career at RJ Analytical, but also doing something. We actually are doing something about it took a position at the Brigham City Wastewater Treatment every day.” Facility. Her facility also tests drinking water, and Jennifer Jennifer echoed Richard’s sentiment and added that their jobs serves as the city’s industrial pretreatment coordinator, allow them to continually learn, and pass on their knowledge. wastewater pollution. Like Richard, she’s also concerned about algal blooms, not produced from wastewater, but from mountain streams flowing into Mantua Reservoir. WHAT MAKES IT DIRTY: Along with the expected excrement, Jennifer has seen odd things come to her facility in the wastewater, like old T-shirts 26 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 EXECUTIVE MASTER OF HEALTH ADMINISTRATION at all,” she said. Along with pollutants, which Richard refers to as “soluble ensuring local industries follow EPA guidelines to prevent — Darcy Siebenaller, eMHA graduate and blankets. Richard recently saw an entire push broom In addition, lab science has become a family tradition. Their son, Richard, a 2020 WSU chemistry graduate, runs THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT The need for qualified healthcare management professionals has never been greater. Weber State University’s Executive Master of Health Administration degree is designed for students whose personal and professional demands keep them from attending a traditional campus. NO GRE/GMAT REQUIRED VIRTUAL ORIENTATION With five years of experience Attend one virtual orientation ACCELERATED PROGRAM ONLINE COURSEWORK Complete in just four semesters FLAT-RATE TUITION No out-of-state increase Online degree NATIONALLY RANKED #1 Online MHA Program, 2021* RJ Analytical’s lab, where his sister, Maile, a current WSU student taking chemistry courses, also works. Another *Recognized among EduMed’s Best Online MHA Programs for 2021 daughter graduated from BYU in molecular biology. However, Jennifer said that their other son, who is currently serving a religious mission in Africa, may buck the trend and study APPLY NOW FOR SPRING 2023 ALUMNI DISCOUNT Weber State alumni who are accepted into the spring 2023 eMHA cohort will be eligible for an additional one-time 5% loyalty discount on the first semester’s tuition. business when he returns. weber.edu/mha LEGACY DONORS Even though they were transplants to the area, Tom and Nancy Davidson supported Weber State University as if they The Davidsons donated about $1.4 million to WSU over the course of 27 years. Earnings on these were lifelong fans. donations have gone toward Weber State Athletics, the College The couple married in 1951 and moved to the Ogden area of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology, the College of in the 1970s. Science, the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities, Tom spent a decade in the CLASS NOTES A L U M N I U P D AT E S and the Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education. Air Force and progressed Greg Larsen BS ’03, another one through several marketing and of the couple’s grandsons who is engineering positions in the a Weber State alum and cousin private sector before retiring to Richard, said WSU was always and becoming involved in the a part of his life thanks to his community alongside Nancy. grandparents. He said Tom and Nancy would go out of their way Richard Davidson, one of ’70s to get to know student athletes, the couple’s grandsons, said who were usually transplants to they were both drawn to the area, like themselves. the university as a pillar of Hal “Holiday” Schneider AS ’75 was born in the Bronx, New York. He joined the the community, with Tom “You throw yourself at it,” Larsen eventually serving on the said. “If you say you’re a part of Utah State Board of something, you’re a part of it. Education, the WSU Board Those are the lessons I learned of Trustees and WSU from them.” Athletic Board. Both Larsen said he and his family Three Aces and a Joker. He earned honorary Doctorate learned a lot about the importance has written multiple songs, of Humanities degrees at of being involved and helping others two of which have been WSU, Tom in 1998 and from his grandparents. inducted into the Rockabilly “When he was a fan, he was a fan,” Hall of Fame, and been “My grandpa loved he said of his grandfather. “When he featured in professional education, but my was engaged, he was engaged. He film productions. He is grandmother loved the was all in.” the recipient of the 2016 Nancy in 2010. people,” he said. Richard said his grandparents always U.S. Air Force in 1957, which brought him to Utah. Hal is a professional entertainer, known as Hal Holiday, and the founder of the band Ogden City Mayor’s Awards in the Arts: Lifetime Tom passed away in 2013, and Nancy in 2015. However, made it a point to attend plays and athletic events at Weber their support for Weber State continues, since they are State and were passionate about supporting those students. among the many donors who have committed to the “They were very thoughtful in their giving,” he said. “The longterm success of Weber State by establishing an time performing at the things they supported had to have value and purpose.” Washington Terrace Senior endowed scholarship. WSU supporters and donors Barbara and Norman Tanner, Leon and Frances Staciokas and Dean and Jane Morrin are also among those who have set up these scholarship endowments. The endowments consist of invested, donated funds, with some of the Contribution Award. He currently volunteers his Activities Center. He married “My grandpa loved education, but my grandmother loved the people.” — Richard Davidson interest earnings accrued on those investments used to fund scholarships. his wife, Sharon, in 1960. Annette Thurber Bryner Air Control Squadron. Prior festival at Fort Buenaventura BS ’76 spent 14 years to attending Weber State, he in Ogden. Michelle is a supporting students as a served four years as active volunteer DJ at KRCL 90.9 FM Title I teacher’s aide at duty military in the U.S. community radio, hosting Ellis Elementary in Logan, Navy. During that time, he The Night Train. She has a Utah. She used her talents was stationed in Vietnam, passion for science and arts, as a music minor and the Philippines, Japan and and loves the balance of both violin player to support Virginia. He is a Vietnam in her life. the orchestra program at veteran and a life member of Woodruff Elementary and Disabled American Veterans Nancy Blair BS ’87 retired Ellis Elementary. Annette has and the Veterans of Foreign after 29 years as a school played violin for the last 44 Wars. He has one son, one teacher at Polk Elementary years in the Cache Chamber granddaughter and lives in in Ogden, where she taught Orchestra, which has grown South Ogden. second grade and created and into the Cache Symphony Orchestra. She co-founded taught a first-through-sixth- ’80s grade enrichment program. After retiring, she went on to a support group for Cache serve on the Ogden School Valley community members Michelle Tanner ADN ’80, who have been diagnosed BSN ’10 is a flight nurse for with celiac disease. She Intermountain Life Flight on and her four siblings are all the newborn team. She is graduates of Weber State. the founder and co-director Annette and her husband, of Ogden Friends of Acoustic Brent Bryner, live in Logan. Music (OFOAM), a non- They have seven children profit music organization and 15 grandchildren. whose mission is to bring They have eight children, 33 Brent Aguirre BS ’77 retired grandchildren, and 31 from Hill Air Force Base, great grandchildren. where he supervised the Air Force Engineering Technical Services Team at the 729th Board of Education where she is also currently serving on the Ogden-Weber Technical College Board of Trustees. She is active in church and civic organizations. With her provide free music education opportunities for youth. Since an annual three-day music law, student achievement and land trust committees. She live music to Ogden and 2009, OFOAM has hosted is currently on the policy and husband, Robert, she owns a family business in Ogden. They have four children and 12 grandchildren, and live in Ogden. To learn more about how you can help WSU students achieve their goals through an endowed or other gift, visit give.weber.edu. Spring 2022 | alumni.weber.edu 29 June 3, 2022 The Barn Golf Club Gary Gerfen BS ’87 retired in public relations director for 2016 after a successful 30- the American Red Cross. year career in the aerospace She later started her own industry. While attending business, Creative Visions Weber, Gary worked on Training Resources. Sandra cruise missile engines for was an adjunct professor Williams International and for WSU’s professional sales missiles at Morton Thiokol program, and trained Hill Air locally. After graduating, he Force Base personnel through moved to Arizona to continue a leadership certification his career at Honeywell program. For 20 years, she International. Some of served on the board of his project areas included directors for Weber County commercial jet engines, Pathways, now known as and the next generation Trails Foundation of Northern of satellites for Honeywell Hit the Links, SUPPORT WSU STUDENTS Space Systems. In 1995, he Utah, which protects local trails and green spaces. She earned an MBA in technology was a member of the WSU management from the Alumni Association board University of Phoenix, and later a master certificate in of directors from 2003–2004. She has four children, 13 project management from grandchildren and lives Join the Alumni Golf Classic and help raise the University of Villanova. in Ogden. $50,000 for alumni student scholarships. He spent 20 years with The Donations of any size can be made while you enjoy a day of golf. Boeing Company, where he worked on commercial and military programs. For 18 years, Gary owned and REGISTRATION SELLS OUT QUICKLY, SO SIGN UP TODAY! operated Awesome Alaska Adventures, now known as Great Land Lodge, a full service fishing lodge alumni.weber.edu/golf hosting both saltwater and freshwater expeditions. He Mike Fine BS ’89 is a founder and a senior test manager at Centercode, a beta testing software and services company. Fine is actively engaged in speaking about beta testing as a concept, as ’90s Max Stitzer BS ’93 is a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force, currently serving at HQ USAF, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He was commissioned an Air Force officer in November 1994 Weber Convention & Visitors the Medical Reserve Corps for Bureau, the Weber Area the Southwest Utah Public Chamber of Commerce and Health Department COVID-19 Daryn Cox BS ’03 is the the Ogden High Booster Club. vaccine clinics. She continues lead designer at 1440, a He worked with WSU on to teach as an adjunct technology company based the College Town Initiative, instructor for the Department in Park City, Utah. He which received the national of Health Administrative oversees all aspects involving Abernathy Award in 2015. Services at WSU. graphics, user interface and Bart runs Blair’s Service Center, which is a family and has been recognized throughout his career with over 20 military awards and decorations. Max Manya Stolrow AS ’00 is and lives in Ogden. a dental hygienist with Patricia Shaw MED ’97 retired after a 30-year career Embry-Riddle Aeronautical teaching health information University. He is active in his and health administration at church and is a performing Weber State. She earned her multi-instrumental musician. bachelor’s degree in health He and his wife, Shelly, live information administration in Virginia. They have two through the College of St. daughters. Scholastica. She later earned a Doctorate of Education with Ogden City Council member, who has recently been reelected to his fourth term. During his past 12 years as a council member, he has also served on the Ogden/ ’00s years. He has three daughters aeronautical science from Bart Blair BA ’97 is an user experience. Daryn is an accomplished graphics artist and working freelance owned Ogden business of 70 earned a master’s degree in an emphasis in education technology and eLearning from Northcentral University. She and her husband, Tom, moved to southern Utah, where she volunteers with generation Wildcat. designer of corporate branding, web design and marketing materials. He has Anderton Dental in South volunteered as a transcriber Ogden. She graduated from of historical documents for WSU with honors and later Zooniverse.org, an online became a mentor for dental public research site. He and hygiene students. She has his wife, Heather, have two functioned as a delegate for the Utah Dental Association. In her community, she is daughters and two cats and live in Layton, Utah. a member of the planning Michelle Emerson Watts commission for Pleasant BS ’04 is part of the View, Utah. As an avid Homeworks Property Lab road cyclist, she has been team, where she manages the an ambassador for the office and financial accounts. Wildflower Pedalfest. She has She provides additional two children, one of whom support to the brokerage is currently in WSU’s dental with her photography skills. hygiene program as a third- Michelle worked as a staff well as teaching courses and authoring several articles on the topic. He is a LinkedIn and his wife, Amy, live in Learning author, whose Northwest Montana. online courses have been widely viewed throughout Sandra Davies BIS ’89 is the the world. Fine is also the granddaughter of former author of three books and WSU president Henry Aldous a member of the Pi Kappa Dixon. After graduating, Alpha national fraternity. she began working at Hill His wife, Tricia Fine BA ’94, Air Force Base through a recently celebrated over 20 U.S. Air Force Outstanding years at Autoliv as a senior Scholar appointment. project manager. They have She has served as the two daughters and live in executive director of the South Ogden. Pass us a note! WE WANT TO FEATURE YOU. Let us know what you have been up to since graduation. American Heart Association Share information on your professional and volunteer work, in Weber County, and as any credentials or awards you have received, or other accomplishments and interests. It’s our opportunity to share a bit of your alumni story with the WSU community. Spring 2022 | alumni.weber.edu 31 e t a d p U your ! e l i f o pr photographer for SLUG Zack Blair BS ’06 was the Ogden and Huntsville all graduates of WSU. She has Magazine for two years. She born and raised in Ogden. marathons on several two grandchildren and lives has been featured in various He is a manager of U.S.- occasions. He and his wife, in Washington Terrace, Utah. Salt Lake City exhibitions based business partners at Courtnee, have one son including a female-only Pinterest, a social media and one dog. exhibit at FICE Gallery. She network. Zack is a longtime has contributed images to contributor to the Ogden Brett Gerfen BS ’06 works as a Ogden Contemporary Arts, arts community and has manufacturing engineer II for a non-profit art organization. Russia magazines. Michelle participated in local events the Single Use Technologies Since March 2020, she has has been serving on the such as the Moments Art Division at Thermo Fisher worked to rebrand, raise Fairpark Community Council Festival, the annual Wasatch Scientific, known as the funds and assist in the Yeti Bash and many First “world leader in serving overall design of the space, Friday Art Strolls. Zack science,” in Logan, Utah. The with the goal of making art one son and live in Salt has completed the Boston automated machinery he has accessible to all within the Lake City. Marathon twice, along with been designing and building community. In her role at has allowed their customers OCA, she also redesigned the to manufacture vaccines for Platforms outdoor exhibition the COVID-19 pandemic. In space into a sculpture 2016, he was the recipient park, which now houses of his employer’s coveted permanent installations. 4-I Award for Innovation She created O-Town Arts, a regarding the work he did as contemporary art collective a member of the Integrated based in Ogden. Venessa’s Solutions Team. artwork has been shown focused on supporting Eden Buxton BFA ’15 is the and Academic Affairs at Tia Walker BS ’16 is a human in the Utah Museum of mothers by teaching ways to marketing and fundraising WSU. She is a recipient of resources representative Contemporary Art and the care for their emotional well- coordinator for Ogden WSU’s Presidential Award for DHL Supply Chain in Finch Lane Gallery, as well as being so that they can best Contemporary Arts, a non- for Community Engaged Salt Lake City. She received several statewide exhibitions. support others in their lives. profit art organization. After Alumni. Prior to her work at her Professional in Human They have four sons and live studying photography at WSU, she worked for Ogden Resources Certification in in the state of Washington. WSU, she earned an MFA Downtown Alliance. She has March 2021. She currently in film and media from the served abroad in the United serves on the Young Alumni University of Utah. She is a States Peace Corps in North Council for the WSU Alumni Vogue Russia and Cosmopolitan for the past three years. She and her husband, Bill, have is the executive director of ’10s Karen Bateman BS ’11, MPC ’14, BS ’18 began working CREATE for WSU at the Dee Events Center after moving to Utah from Santa Barbara, California, in 1996. She retired in 2021, after 25 years at WSU. For the last 14 years, she worked in WSU FOR SUCCESS Do you have an evening to give advice, share wisdom and insights, and discuss what life is like after college with a WSU student? Alumni Relations as the accounting specialist, helping with budgets, scholarships and house management. She is currently pursuing an M.Ed with an emphasis in family life studies. She has volunteered with Become a Mentor! ALUMNI.WEBER.EDU/MENTOR women at Your Community Connection, a family crisis center that serves the Ogden community. Karen and her late husband, Gary Bateman, have three children, who are 32 alumni.weber.edu | Spring 2022 Venessa Castagnoli BFA ’12 Brandon Guernsey BA ’12 has worked as a deputy THE BEST WAY TO STAY INFORMED about events, activities, opportunities and promotions offered by WSUAA, as well as our campus and community partners, is to update your information to ensure you are receiving our monthly e-newsletter. Each month the newsletter is loaded with something for everyone. Visit: WEBER .EDU/U PDATEYOURINF O prosecutor for Grant County, Elizabeth Hill AS ’12, BS ’13, Washington, for the past four MBA ’17 is an administrative years. After graduating from longtime promoter of the arts Macedonia as well with the Association. She lives in specialist for the Department Weber State, he attended in Ogden. Eden organized WSU Global Community North Salt Lake, Utah. of Construction & Building the University of Louisville and co-curated the Moments Engaged Learning program in Science at WSU. She teaches Art Festival in 2017. Through Mozambique. Collier serves Charles Bowker BA ’17 is an Brandeis School of Law. He is as an adjunct instructor for Giving Tuesday, she has as the vice president of IT audit associate for Tanner a member of The Federalist the Parson Construction worked with local businesses communication on the WSU LLC, where he provides IT Society, the Washington Management program. Liz to provide funding to Young Alumni Council. She assurance with system and State Bar Association and serves on the executive bring local, national and is a member of the Ogden operations control auditing the Idaho State Bar. Brandon board of the WSU Chapter international artists to the Junior League, Rotary Club for major companies across volunteers as a hockey coach of Utah Women in Higher Ogden community. She of Ogden, Ogden-Weber the U.S. and internationally. with the Moses Lake Youth Education Network. She is and her wife, Devi, have Chamber of Commerce and Previously, Charles worked as Hockey Association. His passionate about advocating three cats, one dog and Ogden-Weber Chamber an administrative specialist wife, Jacqlin Guernsey BS for women and underserved live in Ogden. Women in Business. She is with the Utah Jazz at Vivint ’11, MA ’12, is the creator populations, both on campus a student in the Master of Smart Home Arena. He is and manager of the online and in her community. She Danielle Collier AS ’16, Professional Communication serving his fourth year on platform Coaching with and her husband, Michael, BS ’18 is a development program at WSU. the WSU Young Alumni Jacqlin Guernsey. She is an live in Ogden. director for the Moyes Council, and currently College of Education serves as a mentor in the emotional health coach, Spring 2022 | alumni.weber.edu 33 2 CAT CAT Scholarships events and assemblies, she community events and organized food and gift drives initiatives. Abby serves for Ogden’s Community on the Ogden-Weber Christmas, which serves Chamber of Commerce STUDENT SUCCESS local children and families. Women in Business BY CONTRIBUTING Tom and Julynette live in Executive Board Layton, Utah. as the networking coordinator, and is serving Michelle Gum BS ’18 moved as the events director for to Utah from Ireland in the Junior League of Ogden. 2015 to attend Weber State. She and her husband, Ryan, She played golf for Weber have three children and live State Women’s Golf for in Ogden. three years. She is a project Celebrate your success and help other Wildcats achieve their dreams. manager and producer for Riot creative agency in Salt Lake City. She is the founder Make a donation of $20.22 or a donation in honor of your graduation year ($19.90 for the Class of 1990, for example). Since 2016, WSU graduating seniors have donated over $36,000 to provide Cat2Cat student scholarships for fellow Wildcats. WEBER.EDU/CAT2CAT of The Rose Club, a female focused skateboarding and snowboarding community that embraces inclusion of all ages and abilities. Her husband, Austin Gum BS ’18, is the manager of Crossroads Skatepark & Shop. In his role, he oversees the purchasing of ’20s Alexandra Smith MA ’21 is a Spanish, English and Latinos in Action advisor within the Weber School She is the winner of the 2021 California Casualty Award complete her master’s degree callings for The Church of through Our Lady of the Lake Jesus Christ of Latter-day his wife, Esther Bowker, live and professors while University online in 2017. She Saints, including in his ward in Salt Lake City. attending WSU. previously worked as a social as president of the Elders worker for Weber Human Quorum and president of Jadrian Clark BS ’17 is Sebastian Lawson AAS Services and Ogden Youth the Sunday School. He is known as one of the top ’17, BS ’19 is an orthopedic Futures. Shelbee was on the currently serving in his ward quarterbacks in Weber State foot and ankle sales Spirit Squad for the duration as a Young Men’s counselor. history. After graduating, he representative for Paragon of her time at WSU, serving He married former Miss moved to Northern Germany 28 in Tacoma, Washington. as captain for her last two Layton, Julynette Martinez to play professional football Previously, he worked as years. Sebastian and Shelbee BS ’16, in March 2021. While in the European League of a medical lab scientist for have two daughters and live serving as Miss Layton, Football. He has completed Tanner Clinic in Layton, in Maple Valley, Washington. Julynette created the Pursue Utah. He served a mission Abby Monroe BS ’19 is the of Education in Curriculum five successful seasons with STEM Scholarship, which for The Church of Jesus Thomas “Tom” Bowker alumni coordinator for WSU and Instruction at WSU. the Hamburg Sea Devils. He supports low-income female Christ of Latter-day Saints BS ’18 is a software engineer Alumni Relations. In her He is an academic advisor is the founder and coach of high school graduates who in Kenya. As a student, for Lockheed Martin and role, she advises the WSU and internship coordinator his own quarterback training have interest in pursuing Sebastian served on the WSU the U.S. Air Force. Tom is Young Alumni Council and with WSU’s Department of platform, QB Apex, which careers in STEM. Julynette Alumni Association Board serving in his second term works closely with WSU Exercise & Nutrition Sciences. helps youth advance their teaches science at West Point skills in hopes of being able of Directors and as student on the WSU Young Alumni Regional Alumni Networks. Junior High in West Point, to play college football in alumni president from Council, and currently Previously, Abby worked Utah. She has served for five the United States. During 2018–2019. His wife, Shelbee serves as a mentor in the for five years as the event years as an advisor for the his time in Europe, he has Lawson BS ’15, received her WSU Leadership to Legacy services manager for the WPJH student government. traveled to over 25 countries. degree in social work from Mentorship program. GOAL Foundation, where she In addition to planning Jadrian credits much of his Weber State. She went on to Tom has served in various planned and implemented 34 alumni.weber.edu | Spring 2022 past president of the WSU Snowboarding Club. Austin is highly involved in supporting community skateboarding and snowboarding events. They have one dog and live in Ogden. Established in August 2010, the WSUAA scholarship fund has awarded 228 scholarships, totaling $424,044. Every year, the WSU Alumni Association awards an average of 19 scholarships to students in need. Southern Utah University. he received from his coaches is a longtime member and SCHOLARSHIP FUND. a Bachelor of Arts from success to the mentorship of the indoor skatepark. He WSUAA STUDENT Weber State, she earned Mentorship program. He and as well as the operations TO THE District. Prior to attending WSU Leadership to Legacy all snow and skate products, HELP SUPPORT for Teaching Excellence and a top five winner in the 2022 Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence, both of which are national awards. She is a member of the Utah Education Association and the Weber Education Association. Her husband, Matthew Smith, is currently pursuing a Master Spring 2022 | alumni.weber.edu 35 WSU Salutes 2021 Honorees: Photo by Robert Casey Front row, left to right: Annabelle Harris, Nathan Hole Middle row, left to right: Mike Beasley, Barbara Hughes, Jeff Stephens, Judy Jeppson Hurst, Brittany Page Benko Back row, left to right: Bill Hughes, Craig M. Trewet, Pete Sands, Winslow Hurst 36 36 2022 weber.edu/wsumagazine weber.edu/wsumagazine || Spring Fall 2019 Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 37 Weber State University honored 11 outstanding individuals for their contributions to the campus and community at the 52nd Annual WSU Salutes ceremony in October 2021. “The WSU Salutes program is a wonderful way to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of these distinguished members of our Weber State family.” — Nancy Collinwood, Alumni Relations executive director {STUDENT ALUMNI ROYALTY} {DISTINGUISHED SERVICE} {OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI} Anna Harris AS ’21 & Nathan Hole William and Barbara Hughes Pete Sands Anna and Nathan exemplify the Weber State ideals of scholarship, leadership and service. Anna is working toward a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in psychology. She is a Presidential Scholar as well as an Aletheia Club member. Anna served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, working with youth. She is fluent in American Sign Language and is a member of Family, Career & Community Leaders of America. Nathan is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in geography with an environmental emphasis and a minor in international studies. He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Yugoslavia, where he learned Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian and Montenegrin. At WSU, he has served as Geography Club president, LDSSA club student council member, Presidential Leadership Fellows member and Campus Connections coordinator. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in corporate sustainability. William “Bill” and Barbara aren’t native Utahns — they arrived here separately in the early 1980s and married in 1994 — but, after developing friendships with many Weber State professors and administrators, the couple “adopted” the university as their own. The Hugheses are longtime supporters of the Bonneville Chamber Music Festival and generously provide scholarships within the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities and the Department of Social Work & Gerontology. They also included Weber State in their estate planning. Barbara was raised in Pittsburgh and originally worked as a dental hygienist. After relocating to Utah, she earned a master’s degree in social work and now maintains a part-time counseling practice. She also conducts pet therapy at Ogden Regional Medical Center and SLC International Airport. Bill was raised in Nebraska and attended college on an academic scholarship. He graduated from medical school in Omaha and completed an OB-GYN residency in San Diego before establishing a practice in Layton. The couple raises puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit organization that serves people with disabilities. At Weber State, Pete’s faculty mentors encouraged him to explore a variety of interests, and he left the university in 2008 with the confidence to spend years on the road, performing original musical compositions across the American West. In 2017, he was commissioned to write music for and appear in the TV drama, Yellowstone. Soon after accepting a position as communications director for the nonprofit Utah Navajo Health System (UNHS), Pete became alarmed by the growing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Navajo Nation. With the support of UNHS leaders and community partners, he established a relief effort that delivered food, water, firewood, hand sanitizer and other supplies to an estimated 4,000 households a week. He also orchestrated traveling COVID-19 test sites. In 2020, Time magazine honored Pete as a healthcare guardian. {EMERITI ALUMNI HOMECOMING ROYALTY} Winslow BS ’67 and Judy Jeppson Hurst BS ’64, MED ’86 Judy and Winslow first met in their seventh-grade English class. At Weber, Judy, a physical education major and member of the women’s basketball team, served as student body activities vice president and Winslow joined a student committee that fell under her umbrella of responsibility. Winslow later served as sophomore class senator, junior class president and chief justice of the student supreme court. He also did a one-year stint as sports editor of The Signpost. After Judy’s graduation in 1964, the couple married. They later settled into the newly constructed LaSal Hall dormitory as head residents. The Hursts moved out of state for graduate school, where Winslow earned his master’s degree, but returned to Ogden after Winslow was offered a job as assistant to Weber State’s dean of students. He progressed through a variety of administrative positions, including university registrar. Judy started working part time at Weber as a student affairs advisor in 1984. She eventually became the full-time director of student activities. In 2000, she was named assistant dean of students at Weber State University Davis. Winslow and Judy retired in 2005 with 56 years of combined service to their alma mater. Active supporters of the Emeriti Alumni Council, the couple proudly notes each of their six children (and their spouses) either attended or graduated from WSU. 38 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Lewis W. Shurtliff Award for {CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION} Jeff Stephens BS ’84, MED ’88 Jeff earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Weber State before completing his doctorate in curriculum and instruction at Utah State University in 1994. He began his career teaching language arts at Wahlquist Junior High School in Farr West, Utah, later serving as principal at South Ogden Junior High School and curriculum director for the Weber School District. In 2011, he was named Weber School District’s superintendent. Jeff, a highly respected leader in local, state and national professional organizations, has received numerous honors for his skills and professional insights, including being named 2021 Empowered Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators and the Consortium for School Networking. Jeff is active in his community. He recently served as a trustee for Weber State University and is currenlty a trustee for Ogden Regional Medical Center. Currently, he is senior director of the Boeing Production System for Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes Delivery Operations organization. Additionally, he is vice president of the Boeing Leadership Network, and has been a member since accepting his first management position in 1995. Previously, Craig led fabrication for the New Mid-market Airplane office, helping to develop and transform the Enterprise Production System. Craig has led two fabrication manufacturing business units — Boeing Salt Lake and the Electrical Systems Responsibility Center. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for Bloodworks Northwest, an independent, nonprofit organization that harnesses donor gifts to provide a lifesaving blood supply to hospitals in the Pacific Northwest. He also serves as chair of the President’s National Advisory Council for Weber State, which advises WSU’s president in support of the institution’s core themes of learning, access and community. {EMERITI ALUMNI LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT} {DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI} Mike Beasley BS ’71 Brittany Page Benko BS ’97 Mike, who retired as Rocket Software chairman, was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but moved to Utah in 1964 when his father was offered a job in Ogden. Mike graduated from Weber State with a bachelor’s degree in data processing and was hired at IBM. After a series of promotions, he initiated the formation of Icing Software, an independent business unit of IBM Software, and later received an IBM Executive Leadership Award. He earned an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s prestigious Sloan School of Management, and, in 2000, was named Most Prominent African American in High Technology by Black Press Online. Mike served a lengthy term as board chair of the California chapter of MESA USA, a nonprofit organization that advocates access to high-quality STEM education and training for underrepresented students. In 2015, he collaborated with a team of WSU software engineering students to develop a mobile app that helped Santa Clara County document its homeless population. He has created funds that assist WSU computer science students by pairing incoming freshmen or sophomores with a Beasley Scholar student mentor. Brittany serves as Huntsman Corporation’s senior vice president of environmental, health and safety and manufacturing excellence. She was the first in her family to attend college and graduated from WSU summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in zoology. Three years later, she received a master’s degree in biology from the University of Nebraska. Prior to joining Huntsman in August 2020, Brittany was vice president of health, safety, environment and regulatory at Southwestern Energy. Before that, she served in a variety of environment, safety, and health-related roles with increasing responsibility at several companies, including Anadarko Petroleum, Chesapeake Energy and BP. In 2018, Brittany’s name was included in Houston Woman Magazine’s list of 50 Most Influential Women. {DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI} Craig M. Trewet BS ’90 Craig graduated from Weber State with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology and earned an MBA from Seattle University. He also completed executive programs at Columbia University and the University of Washington. Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 39 GETTING SOCIAL Going along with this issue’s story “Spilling the Dirt,” featuring WSU alumni who found careers that involve getting their hands dirty, AM F Weber State asked LinkedIn followers to share their dirty jobs. OUR BELL TOWER In our fall 2021 issue, Karin Hurst wrote about her father, Weber State’s first full-time executive director of Alumni Relations and College Development, Dean W. Hurst, who helped secure funding for the Stewart Bell Tower. The iconic structure recently turned 50 years old. As a microbiology graduate of WSU, I chose a career path in food safety and quality. I’ve spent a lot of time in ‘smellier’ factories where garlic and onions were being processed; I can say with certainty that the unfortunate people next to me on airplanes did not enjoy my savory smells after those trips. — Elisa Wright BS ’13, corporate FSQA director, Planterra Foods The story received a great deal of praise, including the following letter. Want to share your thoughts on something you read? Email Us At magazine@weber.edu I worked F-16 pneudraulics for 3 years after graduating. Nothing like smelling like jet fuel each day. The work was rough, but it was a foot in the door to a better career. — Allen Emlet AS ’09, BS ’16, software configuration management specialist, Hill Air Force Base I enjoyed thoroughly the article, “The Bells of Weber State.” Karin captured the story so well. What a remarkable and interesting story of the bell tower. I very much enjoyed walking by it and the water features during my time at WSU as a student and an instructor. Please share my gratitude with Dean Hurst for making this incredible landmark happen. knowing this story also. I always take time to enjoy and read the WSU Alumni magazine but wanted to highlight this great article with my appreciation. Thank you, Gayle Speechly Visit weber.edu/wildcatmagazine and click on Fall 2021 under Past Issues to read the story. If you have a Stewart Bell Tower memory to share, send it to us at magazine@weber.edu. Across: 4. Browning 5. Wildcat Village 6. Great Great Great 8. MBA 11. Shepherd Union 13. Ott 14. Tracy Hall 15. KWCR 16. Environmental Studies Minor Dean during their youth. My dad lived to 94 and died two years ago. He would have enjoyed Crossword Answers Down: 1. West Center 2. Wildcat Scholars 3. College 7. Arts 8. Moench 9. Aerospace 10. Veterans 12. Eccles 14. Teaching I only wished I could have shared this article with my father, Hollis Francom, who knew One of my earliest certifications, EMT at WSU (in 1993). I remember doing ride along in Ogden, Davis County and SLC ... and hospital pracs at McKay-Dee. I also remember my lecturer, Jeanlee Carver. [WSU is] a brilliant university, with incredible faculty, that I will always remember attending. Who had any idea this is where I would end up after all those years? I don’t miss shoveling snow though. Go Wildcats! — Eddie Callachan, chief flight paramedic, critical care transport, UAE Ministry of Defense FOLLOW US facebook.com/WeberState @weberstate linkedin.com/school/weberstate MAKING THE CLIMB On Oct. 4, 1922, over 350 Weber College students and faculty climbed the rough hills of Ogden with college president Aaron Tracy and planted a Weber flag on top of Mount Ogden. Almost every year since then, students and community members have continued the tradition In our fall 2022 issue, we will celebrate the 100th year of WSU’s Mount Ogden Hike. Send us your memories and photos of the Mount Ogden Hike for Wildcat Inbox to magazine@weber.edu. Visit weber.edu/outdoor for information on this year’s hike. 40 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 41 A courageous conversation and authentic connection are the first steps toward healing. Healing from racial trauma is an internal process. Caring for ourselves and for one another helps us reconnect, feel alive in our bodies, refuel and persist, increase resiliency, improve overall health and well-being, and affirm to ourselves and to one another that who we are matters deeply. Healing from racial trauma enables us to honor our grief, remember our strengths, and create space for self-care. Healing from racial trauma is a process that helps us remember who we are, start an uprising within ourselves to reject the forces that say, “You are not worthy,” and re-author our story to one that says, “I am deeply worthy of love and belonging.” If you’ve experienced racial trauma, visit this article at Gregory Noel, Juancarlos Santisteban “ THE WAY TO RIGHT WRONGS IS TO TURN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH UPON THEM.” weber.edu/wsumagazine for a link to Boston College’s Racial Trauma Toolkit. COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS RACIAL TRAUMA AND HEALING IDA B. WELLS-BARNETT For more information on WSU’s Counseling & Psychological Services Center, visit weber.edu/counselingcenter. BY JUANCARLOS SANTISTEBAN BA ’06, LICENSED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST, TRAINING DIRECTOR & GREGORY NOEL, LICENSED ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST Counseling & Psychological Services Center DEAR WILDCAT ALUMNI: Please read this from a place of kindness, humility, empathy indignities of racism that are deeply entrenched and and compassion. persist throughout all facets of our society. The impact is As trauma-focused therapists in WSU’s Counseling & disproportionate on the mental, emotional and physical Psychological Services Center, we provide a safe space for health of BIPOC. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) to process racial Rather than jumping to conclusions regarding the existence trauma from both their personal and societal experiences of racial trauma, let’s take the time to have a courageous of discrimination. conversation with others regarding their personal accounts of Racial trauma is more than isolated incidents that only racial trauma. impact BIPOC alumni. It is a communal failing that plagues What if we allowed ourselves to listen to their truths? every aspect of our society. Racial trauma is defined as the Maybe there is a genuine connection on the other side of our cumulative effects of the intergenerational and interpersonal discomfort and lack of understanding. 42 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2022 Spring 2022 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 43 Non-profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID 1265 Village Dr. Dept. 4025 Ogden, UT 84408-4025 Permit No. 151 Salt Lake City, UT TEST YOUR WSU KNOWLEDGE! *Answers on page 41. 1. DOWN 1. WSU location in Roy, Utah 2. WSU program that allows students to finish composition and math requirements in one year (answer in this issue). 3. In 1922, Weber State became known as Weber _____ (answer in this issue). 7. Bachelor of _____. 8. Weber’s first president 9. Air Force ROTC students may earn an _____ studies minor. 10. WSU is ranked No. 2 in the nation for _____. 12. George S. _____ Lecture Hall in Elizabeth Hall 14. WSU puts _____ first. 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 6. 8. 9. ACROSS 4. ______ Center for the Performing Arts 5. Housing on campus 6. Weber State! Weber State! _____ _____ _____! 8. Business master’s degree 11. The heart of the Ogden campus 13. _____ Planetarium 14. _____ _____ Science Center 15. Wildcat radio station 16. Interdisciplinary academic program focusing on the work of science in human activity 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Share a memory of a program or place highlighted in the puzzle at magazine@weber.edu, and visit weber.edu/wsumagazine for links to share your favorite articles in this issue. RECYCLE ME!