Spring magazine final 32 pages (1) by Susan Polster

Spring 2014 | Vol. 1 No. 1

Changing Lives PAGE 14

Floating along the horizon is Navajo Mountain where USU Eastern students spent their spring break painting and hammering in behalf of some of the hundreds of Navajo families living in its sacred shadows.

Managing Editor John DeVilbiss john.devilbiss@usu.edu

nEWS EDITOR Susan Polster susan.polster@usu.edu

Contents//

Vol. 1, No. 1 | Spring 2014

featured in this issue

Design & Production Katrina Houskeeper

Chancellor Joe Peterson

Vice chancellors Guy Denton Peter Iyere

USU EASTERN REGIONAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Renee Banasky, Chair Erroll Holt, Vice Chair Jason Dunn Lynn Stevens Albert Barnett Gwen Callahan Mark Holyoak Frank Peczuh, Jr.

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY EASTERN MAGAZINE is published biannually by Utah State University Eastern Institutional Advancement. Periodical postage paid at Price, Utah and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to USU Eastern Institutional Advancement, 451 E. 400 N. Price, UT 84501.

A New Gateway for the Price Campus

Bear denning essentials

The reinventing of a library

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the official position of the College. USU Eastern is committed to equal opportunity in student admission, financial assistance, faculty, and staff employment.

Special thanks to Peczuh Printing, Price, Utah, for the printing in-kind of this biannual magazine.

Adding backbone to prehistoric museum

plus 2

Helping Make Taxes Less Taxing

12 Pedal to the Metal

25 POST Academy to Open at USU Eastern

Eagle Eye on the Vulnerable

22 A Force for Good

26 Class Notes

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

24 Her Song Lives On

ON THE COVER USU Eastern students volunteering at Navajo Mountain. photo by John DeVilbiss

practitioners (NPs) with specialties in adult and acute care, geriatrics, neonatal, psychiatric/ mental health and women’s health. The policy change tears down a Medicaid payment wall of the past 17 years in Utah that previously only recognized pediatric and family nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and certified registered nurse anesthetists. Now nurse practitioners are part of this vital mix that ultimately means more access to comprehensive health care for Utah’s susceptible citizens and the ability for NPs to practice to the full extent of their education and training, Pendergrass says. “It’s always a great feeling to be recognized for the time and effort that was put into changing this policy and fundamentally changing how all nurse practitioners are reimbursed in the state of Utah,” she says. “This policy change is not only good for all NPs, but for the patients who now have access to high quality, patient-centered nursing care.” Pendergrass, who holds a doctorate in nursing practice from the University of Utah, says her time at USU Eastern, when it was the College of Eastern Utah, was a launching pad for her career. Born and raised in Carbon County, she graduated from CEU’s nursing program in 1997. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Weber State University and a master’s degree in nursing, women’s health nurse practitioner from the U of U.

“My time at CEU was very instrumental,” she says. “It was close; it was exactly what I needed.”

Danielle Howa Pendergrass at her clinic, Eastern Utah Women’s Health. photo by John DeVilbiss

Keeping an Eagle Eye On Utah’s Most Vulnerable W

omen, the elderly and some of Utah’s most vulnerable populations in need of specialty care from nurse practitioners now will be able to receive those services, thanks, in part, to a faculty member from Utah State University Eastern. For her role in helping to change Medicaid policy in Utah, Danielle Howa Pendergrass was awarded the 2013 Utah Nurse Practitioners State Award for Excellence in Leadership. The real prize, though, goes to those on the receiving end of additional medical care as a result of the policy change that Pendergrass helped to navigate through committees. Patients now have access to nurse

It is also the reason she has so many USU Eastern nursing students today working in her Price clinic: Eastern Utah Women’s Health. Her nursing students are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge through clinical rotations at her independently owned and operated nursing practice. She says she loves working with students and giving them a leg up whenever she can. Hundreds have already passed through her clinic being able to put into practice what she taught them in the family nursing programs at the college. She teaches the maternal child classes for both licensed practical nursing (LPN) and registered nursing (RN) students at USU Eastern. She not only champions budding nursing students, she is a strong advocate of the state’s

1,039 nursing practitioners and firmly believes that their occupation not only entails caring for the sick, but also for ailing policies thwarting the profession. Yes, the business side of being a NP is also important and should not be neglected, she says. It is an argument she makes in her manuscript submitted to the Journal of Policy, Politics and Nursing Practice that espouses the notion of nurse practitioners as policy entrepreneurs. As Pendergrass demonstrates, dogged behind-thescenes work can pay off in the form of greater reach in the caring of vulnerable populations. It is a big deal, not only in Utah, but also the nation with the national NP workforce expected to grow 130 percent between 2008 and 2025. In Utah, the number of practicing NPs has increased a whopping 93 percent since 2003, she says. To become a NP, the minimum requirement is a master’s degree in nursing. By 2015, entry level practitioners will be required to hold a doctorate in nursing. NPs can diagnose and treat many medical conditions. They write prescriptions and order tests, such as lab work and CT scans. They use the nursing model that provides a holistic approach to providing care to their patients, she says. Pendergrass’s influence in Eastern Utah is far-reaching, having partnered with many community organizations to provide care for women living in Carbon, Emery and Grand counties. She is a perfect example of the possibilities rural students are capable of, says Nikkie King, USU Eastern director of nursing. “USU’s nursing program on the Price campus is exceptionally fortunate to have someone with Danielle’s expertise willing to share some of her knowledge,” King says. “Our students have a great advantage being able to work and learn from Danielle. Her desire to continue to contribute, not only to nursing but to nursing education, is exceptional.” Pendergrass says her roots are in Carbon County and she plans to stay here. But she notes that she is just the right distance from Salt Lake City and the Utah State Legislature. Close enough to keep an eagle eye on any legislation impacting health care in Utah, particularly as it relates to nursing practitioners. “I will always be involved in state policy and leadership,” she says. “That is where change happens. Big change!” - John DeVilbiss

Henning Olsen assists Don Darlington with his taxes. photo by John DeVilbiss

Three Decades of Helping to Make Taxes Less Taxing

his year marks the 31st year that Utah State University Eastern’s faculty and accounting students provided tax assistance to the community. Henning Olsen, Ed.D., partnered with business and government to offer the free service to people including Blanding, Moab, Castle Dale and Price.

“We work as a team and train as a team,” Olsen said. Each year his students complete several hundred returns. Olsen says the Price team, housed in the Reeves building, prepared and helped to return a little more than $250,000 to local clients in the previous 2012 tax year alone. Through the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Government and Community Action Partnership of Utah, more than $15,000 was given to assist the four areas with the project. A $7,700 CAP grant helped Carbon and Emery counties while a $7,800 grant from American Express helped Grand and San Juan counties. “SEUALG provided funding to purchase six computer monitors and a shredder for the

Price volunteer students,” said Collette Child, SEUALG Community Services Program Manager. Zions Bank offered a coupon allowing those using the service who do not have a checking account to cash their state and federal refunds at their bank at no cost. The regional coordinator for VITA, Merlina Lopan, traveled between the sites to make sure the refunds were completed correctly throughout the tax season. Eight college students in Price, four in Blanding and one in Moab are enrolled in the income tax accounting class that runs the program in each area. Hank Savage, Robert Higbee and Linda Jensen return to the Price VITA center each year to assist. Additional community volunteers in Moab and Blanding also serve their communities. USU Eastern Chancellor Joe Peterson told the students that he thinks this is a good experience for the people who use the program and the college students who run the program. “Folks need it and the [USU Eastern] administration appreciates the work the students and volunteers do each year,” he says. - Susan Polster

Bearing All for Science T

racking down a mother bear in her den and holding her bear cubs has become an annual event for students in Mike King’s wildlife science program. In early March, Utah State University Eastern wildlife science students joined Brad Crompton, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) biologist, on a “Bear Denning” expedition near the Dugout Mine, about 20 minutes east of Price. Wildlife Science students and faculty from the USU Uintah Basin campus joined the excursion. Each year, UDWR biologists keep track of several female black bears in Eastern Utah via radio-telemetry equipment. Bears are captured and fitted with radio-transmitting collars and then monitored during the year. This monitoring effort helps biologists more fully understand bear movements, such as habitat preferences and how close they are coming to urbanized areas and humans. Besides the movement and habitat-use data, biologists are able get information about bear health and reproduction. This is where the denning activities come in. Bears go into a period of inactivity during the winter and rest in a den for several months.

Bear cub retrieved from den

photos by Mike King

Biologists locate the radio-collared bears during the winter months and identify approximate den locations with the telemetry equipment while flying in a fixed-wing aircraft. Once the approximate location of the den is located, the biologists must hike to the den to determine the condition and reproductive status of the bear. The hike is really where the fun begins. Though on a map, the distance may look relatively short — maybe only a half a mile as the crow flies — the hike is rarely that easy. The most recent hike was only a half a mile from the road, but it was a steep uphill climb that took participants about an hour and a half to reach the den location. Fortunately, the weather was great and it was a perfect day for hiking. He said last year the hike took longer than three hours and it snowed all day.

Once at the den, Crompton tranquilizes the mother bear with a dart fired from an air pistol. This keeps her asleep while he checks her health and determines if she has cubs. This year, there were two cubs, a female and a male, and mother and cubs seemed to be in excellent health. The highlight of the day is the opportunity students get to actually hold the bear cubs while the mother bear is immobilized. One might think that the mother would reject the cubs if they smell like humans, but years of experience has shown that the mothers keep taking care of the cubs just as if they hadn’t been handled. The cubs don’t seem to be fazed by the handling though they do squeal, yawn, stretch, snuggle and sometimes even scratch — they have unusually long claws for such a tiny body. The drug keeping the mother bear asleep usually lasts about an hour, so the cubs are returned to her before she wakes up. Once the cubs are back in the den with the mother, the hikers leave the den site and make the descent down the hill to the vehicles. Though participants are greatly touched and exhilarated by the experience, the major point of the trip for wildlife students is to help them understand more fully what a wildlife biologist does in the real world and the challenges they face on a daily basis.

Mike Sacco, USU Eastern wildlife student, holding one of the cubs retrieved from a den for examination.

USU Eastern students participating in this year’s trip included TJ Cook, Shawn Devereaux, Shalayne Luke, Brayden Huntsman, Mike Sacco, Matt Thayne, Andrew Todachinnie, Xaela Walden, Heather Ferrell and Jesse Winn. King, wildlife science program adviser, and Wade Arave, USU Eastern enrollment services admissions adviser, traveled with the group.

The bachelor’s degree in wildlife science is one of the new degree programs available at USU Eastern. The first students to complete the degree are expected to graduate in the spring 2015. In addition to the degree program is an active student wildlife club on campus. Those interested in learning more about the wildlife science degree may contact King at mike.king@usu.edu. - Mike King

Participants in this year’s Bear Denning expedition included (from left to right) Brad Crompton (UDWR), Shawn Devereaux, Mike Sacco, TJ Cook, Matt Thayne, Shalayne Luke, Alex Thayne, Xaela Walden, Mike King, Jesse Winn, Brayden Huntsman, Andrew Todachinnie. (Heather Ferrell was not present at photo)

The space between the G.J. Reeves and Geary Theatre buildings where the new Central Instruction Building will soon be built. Photo by John DeVilbiss

A NEW GATEWAY TO CAMPUS U

tah State University Eastern Chancellor Joe Peterson is seeing things.

And this isn’t just a recent phenomenon either. It’s been going on for quite some time now. Catch him glancing to his left when walking between the Reeves and the student center and you’ll see how it nearly trips him up. The familiar open lot between the G.J. Reeves and the Geary Theatre is anything but empty to him. While students and community members see Frisbees flying across the open space, he sees ideas and knowledge being tossed around. He sees a space teeming with students in classrooms, students engaged in music, theater, art and communication. He even sees criminal justice students puzzling through simulated crime scenes meticulously replicated in their new state-of-the-art classroom. It’s a beautiful and exciting space. A new gateway to campus. A new place for students, faculty and staff to interact in the mezzanines and other inviting gathering spaces between classes. He sees a new landmark for USU Eastern, a new symbol as welcoming as the open arm design of the amphitheater gracing its entryway. And what pleases him most is that everything he sees will soon become more visibly appar-

ent to everyone else as early as this summer when construction commences on the new $20 million multi-purpose teaching facility. It is a bright future spawned by the dreams of many and affirmed by the Utah State Legislature March 13 when it voted in favor of funding the new Central Instruction Building (CIB) for the Price campus.

Architectural depiction of the new Central Instruction Building.

When philosopher Rene Descartes penned, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think, therefore I am,â&#x20AC;? he nailed it. Never underestimate the power of an idea. Humans have the uncanny ability to transform one thing into another simply by thinking about it. It is what transforms the impalpable nature of thoughts into tangible results. We think, therefore it becomes. But while thoughts may come easily, transforming them into reality can take years, decades, even lifetimes to bring about. In the case of the CIB, 15 years of toil and persistence, said Brad King, who nursed this dream along while working as vice chancellor of administration and advancement right up until retirement one year ago. Now, as president of the USU Eastern Alumni Association, King joins other visionaries in helping to save the Geary Theatre. Funding the CIB was actually an essential first step in the

process, since this new building will literally connect the two structures it sits between, the Reeves and Geary Theatre. As part of the project, the Geary Theatre will be seismically stabilized and expanded. It seems dreams and plans, like the people who spawn them, are often interconnected. The rising of one new building means the saving of another. But King points out that saving the Geary does not come without additional challenges.

much timelier manner. These two buildings, as fitting partners, also demonstrate the linchpin role of the CIB in USU Easternâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ongoing Building Vitality Campaign. The goal of the campaign is to partner with the community to enhance the College that will, in turn, allow USU Eastern to heighten economic opportunities for the region. Increasing the curb appeal of the 75-year-old campus is an essential component of the campaign, a component the CIB promises to help deliver.

While the new construction project addresses the seismic safety of the grand old theater, it still needs close to $1 million to handle other building needs such as plumbing, electrical and fire safety upgrades.

Located at the entrance of the College, the CIB will span the curb along 400 North, occupying some 54,000-square-feet of space. Its broad and expansive design with ample windows and lighting will serve as a beacon to students, community and visitors alike.

But thanks, in part, to the rising of the CIB, the College can now begin addressing these other Geary Theatre capital campaign needs in a

Yes, the chancellor is seeing things, alright, and his vision and excitement for the new building and its importance to the continuing vitality

of the college and region spills over when he describes to students and faculty what to expect in the coming months. “Our architectural planning is complete, and we have hired a general contractor and construction manager,” he says. “During the summer, we will start seeing utilities work and construction staging, and during July, we will see foundations poured.” His assuredness in the details attests to the hours he has pored over the plans over the past four years since becoming USU Eastern’s first chancellor. He took the helm in 2010, the same year the former College of Eastern Utah merged with Utah State University. “When we come back to school next fall, we will see steel and walls starting to rise,” he says.

“Before we leave for Christmas break, the building will be dried in (that is, it will have a roof and walls) and construction work will proceed on interior spaces during the cold months. By fall term 2015, we will teach classes in our new building!” Peterson says the College will continue to use the music building and the SAC — the old student activity center — until fall 2015. After that, those buildings will be demolished. A new grassy quad for the college will be planted where the SAC now stands. “These changes will require us to be adaptive, but our ability to use the music building and SAC during the construction of the new building will save a lot of headaches,” he says. Space planning is still underway for several programs that will need to be relocated. He

assures faculty, staff and students impacted by this that they will be involved in the planning. One of the most heartening aspects of the recent chain of events for Peterson is realizing that it is not just a building that the legislature approved, it is an affirmation of the College’s mission to prepare the people who will create and sustain the Eastern and Southeastern regions of Utah.

“This new building will be iconic, a venue of pride for students, faculty and the community,” he says. “It is a significant enhancement to our ability to fulfill our mission.” When one thinks about how neurons of thoughts pulsing through a brain fires up syntaxes, sparking ideas, turning words into drawings that ultimately transform raw resources into gleaming buildings, one has to respect the power of a dream. The ability to see things before they are even there is a uniquely human trait, be it the potential of a vacant lot or the latent capacity of a prospective student. The College’s commitment to turning potential into success makes it a USU Eastern trait too. “With a turn of a shovel, we will begin to see the hopes and plans of our best dreams transition into the brick and mortar of our finest reality,” Peterson says. “As we witness this space transition into a beautiful multi-purpose teaching facility, we celebrate the prospect of transforming lives for the better in the bright years ahead.” - John DeVilbiss

Where the Rubber Meets the Road Auto Department Consistently Ranked Top in Nation

SU Eastern’s automotive program has excelled for decades in almost every competition its students enter. In December, the students participated in the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence student test and scored overall in the top 15 percent in the nation. “Our class composite was 29, placing the entire class in the 85 percentile – the top 15 percent in the nation,” said associate professor Stan Martineau. ASE student certification test measures a student’s knowledge gained in automotive training programs nationwide. It is specially designed to evaluate and certify students who are near the end of their studies in the area of automotive service. The testing program’s independent assessment is a particularly valuable tool for instructors and administrators who are working to respond to today’s increasing demands for measurable outcomes and accountability, according to the department website. For students, ASE certification can be thought of as the first step in building a career as a service professional by providing them with their first industry-recognized certification through ASE. Martineau said the tests are administered at the college through computer-based testing and is monitored by a proctor. He said ASE student certification is awarded to 50 percent of those nationwide who take the test. Thus, he is especially proud of his class who had 14 of the 15 students receive national ASE certificates. In addition to the certificates, students receive a patch to sew on their automotive shirts showing the distinction they earned.

USU Eastern automotive student, Jose Sanchez, of Price, with associate professor Stan Martineau.

USU Eastern had four students score in the 99 percentile, the top one percent in the nation, and another one scoring in the 94 percentile, top six percent in the nation. “I am pleased with our USU Eastern automotive students and their effort and work to prepare for the national exam,” Martineau said. “I congratulate them on a job well done.” - Susan Polster

USU Eastern automotive student, Sean Kinsell, of Price. Photos by John DeVilbiss

A Tale of Two Libraries Becoming One 2013 periodical titled “Merging Two Academic Libraries: Finding Unity from Diversity while Maintaining Institutional Identities.”

Photo by John DeVilbiss

Some of the practical aspects of the merger were to migrate the CEU Library catalog to the same integrated library system and server as USU as well as negotiate with vendors to provide access to electronic resources to all patrons. Other “This is the best thing aspects were to change about the merger; we the technical services processes, organize now have resources we reference services and could only have dreamed collection development. of before we merged It also heavily involved the use of Logan’s infor- with USU in Logan,” mation technology staff Brassaw said. helping on the Price campus. With USU managing the CEU website, it became easy to update and make changes to design and content, according to the article.

Lori Brassaw, USU Eastern library director, is overseeing the transition from the old CEU Library into the new USU Eastern Library. Photos by John DeVilbiss

ombining two academic libraries was newly appointed Utah State University Eastern Lori Brassaw’s first job when she took over the director helm of the college’s library in 2010, the year the College of Eastern Utah merged with USU. Fresh out of graduation at Emporia State University in Kansas in 2003 with her master’s of library science degree, Brassaw started as CEU’s reference and bibliographic librarian. Four years ago, the morphing of the CEU Library into the USU Eastern Library presented unique problems and challenges. Among them, becoming part of the USU Library system while still maintaining its core mission and unique identity. That is, still being seen as a separate entity, but one with full access to the resources of the USU Library. To this end, librarians at the respective institutions were charged with extending access to as many library resources as possible, streamlining workflow, eliminating redundancies and uniting collaboratively as one working library. Brassaw collaborated with Betty Rozum, USU associate dean for technical services at the USU Merrill-Cazier Library, on the Logan campus, and documented this transformation in a

CEU’s policies, procedures and guidelines were adjusted to conform to USU’s. According to the article, loan periods, fees and fines were changed to conform with those of USU. CEU adopted the same borrowing and collecting policies as USU, including charging the general public a fee to obtain borrowing cards. Brassaw noted that many in the community did not like the new policies and circulation statistics declined. Although there were bumps and bruises along the way, the transformation is going full throttle. It is not complete, as Brassaw explains her bucket list of ideas that continue with each fiscal budget year. “This library is no longer perceived as a public library, but a university library with all of the bells and whistles that come with an academic library,” she said. “With the guidance of Richard Clement, dean of libraries at USU, we have enhanced the collection at Eastern and replaced much of the material with relevant material,” she said. “This is the best thing about the merger; we now have resources we could only have dreamed of before we merged with USU in Logan.” “We have many of the same databases and e-books as Logan and expanded our collection in a good way,” she said. “We just purchased Nexus-Lexus for the criminal justice program as they expand their curriculum throughout the state.”

According to Brassaw’s article, responsibility for selection of material remains initially with the Price campus staff, but discounts from vendors for bulk purchasing and favorable service charge pricing from subscription agents helps her budget stretch. Her staff adds almost 1,000 books a year to the Price library collection. “Thirty-eight professional librarians with 25 full-time staff are on the Logan campus to offer help in their respective disciplines to our faculty and students,” she said. “We could have never had this kind of expertise before the merger.” The USU Eastern Library employs one professional librarian and three full-time staff members. After the merger, all 45-student computer terminals were replaced with new computers, student-study rooms added, complete with white boards, leather couches and chairs grace many areas where students gather to study. Carpet was laid on the second floor and will be replaced on the first floor. A new heating and air conditioning system was added last summer. Walls will be painted this summer.

A familiar site on the Price campus since the 1960s, the library has been undergoing many changes since the College’s merger with Utah State University.

Since the building was built 1968-69, electrical outlets are few and far between. Brassaw is getting bids from local electricians to add dozens of outlets to help power the increasing number of electronic devices being used by students. Cell phones, soft drinks and food used to be a no-no in the library. Not any more. Brassaw is rearranging the library so vending machines are available with snacks and drinks for patrons. “We are trying to be as user friendly as possible,” she said. Experience indicates that success [of the library merger] was accomplished through collaboration, planning and effective communication, Rozum and Brassaw observed in the conclusion of their abstract. Brassaw said she remains a major fan of the merger, saying much work remains to be done as the two libraries continue to strengthen their ties and improve their offerings. - Susan Polster

USU Eastern students Danielle Oman (left) and Hollie Grange make quick work of copying on the library’s newly acquired KIC Click Scanner. The machine efficiently digitizes booksized text in one fell swoop.

Photo by John DeVilbiss

It’s Pedal to the Metal for this USU Eastern Student

USU Eastern student Jorge Lascano, from Ecuador, took six weeks with his family to travel 9,842 miles around the United States in their minivan.

ne would think growing up in Ecuador playing soccer on three teams every weekend would mean Jorge Lascano came to Utah State University Eastern to play soccer. But not for Jorge, he came to the United States to major in automotive technology and computer science. This is the second time Lascano and his family has lived in the U.S. The first time was when his father received the Fulbright Scholarship to attend San Jose State University to earn a master’s degree in computer science from 2007-09. The family moved to California and Jorge spent his ninth and 10th grades in San Jose that Jorge describes as an expensive city to live in. “Even though I had taken English every year since I was in first grade, I was not prepared to speak conversational English and did terrible my first year in the U.S.,” he said. “I earned an A-plus in math because the teacher was bilingual and would first explain the lesson in English and then in Spanish.”

Even though he did very well in that class, his grade point average in his other classes fell because he could not speak nor understand English.

“By my sophomore year in high school, I could speak and understand English so I did much better in school,” he said. “My dad jokes that I learned Mexican Spanish while living in San Jose because I no longer spoke the pure Ecuador Spanish I grew up speaking.” His biggest fear about living in the U.S. was getting to know people and making new friends; a fear he overcame after learning to speak English the first time he lived stateside. The family returned to Ecuador at the end of his sophomore year and Jorge completed his 12 years of

schooling in his native Quito, the capital city of 1.6 million residents. In Ecuador, 13 years of schooling is required so Jorge had to finish his last year of high school in Logan to complete his education when his family returned to the states. His father was accepted into computer science doctorate degree program at USU in Logan, so the family moved back to the United States. That year, Jorge’s sister registered for kindergarten, his brother registered for junior high and he registered for at Logan High School. Upon Jorge’s completion, he enrolled at USU to follow in his father’s footsteps and earn a degree in computer science. The cost of international tuition was too expensive for Jorge who said he would have to spend $12,000 a year in tuition and fees, so he looked to attend a college that he could afford. USU Eastern fit the right price range and in the fall semester 2013, he arrived in Price. He would spend $5,000 for tuition, books and housing that year. He chose to first major in automotive technology because he always liked working on cars. “When I was 14, my mom’s car would not start so I asked if I could fix it,” he said. “Since then, I have been working on cars.” He said he is enjoying his time at USU Eastern.

“We traveled 9,842 miles in six weeks in our minivan and tried to stop by every national park or monument,” he said. The family already had been to two states, so they need only to visit 12 more states to complete their quest of seeing the entire U.S. With all the travel under his belt, Jorge wants to take his international friends to see the national parks and monuments. He has already taken some to Moab and Arches and wants to take them to other parks close by. His dad was a disc jockey in Ecuador and Jorge grew up listening to classic, old school music. Thus, he prefers to listen to rock and roll from the ‘70s and ‘80s with his all-time favorite band being the Beatles. He still buys vinyl albums and displays them on the walls of his dorm room. He said if the lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury, was still alive, that he would want to see the group in concert. Contacting family from Ecuador is quite expensive and the Jorge’s family Skypes to their relatives, but that costs 11 cents a minute, whether by mobile phone or landline. He maintains contact with his friends through his Facebook page. He said it has not been difficult to adapt to the American culture. “I grew up in jeans and t-shirts just like my American counterparts,” he said.

“It is not as hard as I thought it would be, but I have not started taking my generals [education courses],” he said. “After I finish here, I want to start my degree in computer science. With all the diagnostic codes in cars, that may help me in both fields.”

However, if he could change anything, he wishes Americans would be more positive toward immigration reform.

At USU Eastern, he enjoys living in America and has taken a liking to pizza. “I really don’t like burgers like most kids my age,” he said.

Next fall semester will be special for Jorge if he makes the USU Eastern soccer team. With his soccer experience and love of the sport, he was on the field for the first soccer-recruiting day at USU Eastern in March. He hopes to be a defensive player in the college’s inaugural soccer season.

He lives in a cooking unit in residential life so he cooks food that he grew up on like fried chicken and pork chops (fritada). Jorge’s father pays for his education and also bought him a car so he can drive to Logan to be with his family on weekends and class breaks. Jorge likes having a car so he can help shuttle the international students, many of whom have become his friends.

Jorge describes himself as a taking his father’s perseverance and discipline, his mother’s dedication to her sons, his paternal grandmother’s work ethic, his maternal grandmother’s service to everyone and maternal grandfather’s dedication to his family.

Time will tell about his soccer ambitions, but for sure he plans to graduate with a degree in automotive technology and computer science before he returns to his native country of Ecuador. - Susan Polster

Avid travelers, the Lascano family visited 35 states last summer. The idea started with everyone wanting to visit Walt Disney World. The family chose to drive to Florida.

Grandchildren of Elouise Lowe. ALL PHOTOS BY JOHN DEVILBISS

Changing Lives One Nail at a Time

The Navajo people, or Diné, call it Naatsis’áán, Head of the Earth. It is sacred to them. Its common reference is Navajo Mountain. To get there, you have to drive to the end of the Earth. At least that is what it was feeling like to Utah State University Eastern student Koralys Gonzalez. A native of Puerto Rico, she could have driven from one end of her island to the other twice over with one hour to spare in the seven hours it takes her and her 37 fellow students to reach the mountain. Gonzalez says she has lived a comfortable life, with everything she’s ever needed. She wants to come on this trip to work hard for something bigger than herself. As her mother often told her: “more than I am.” The lumbering bus ride through some of the most remote and towering scenery in the world certainly speaks to this. Dwarfed by monoliths, how small she feels as she travels through this realm of endless sky and land. It is a good place for her to get her bearings, realign perspectives, slow down, reflect, practice patience and to grab a hammer and nails. She is antsy to get to work. Every year, for the past few years, USU Eastern’s SUN Involvement Center provides service-learning opportunities by sending a select group of students to this outlying stretch along the Utah-Arizona border to help build homes for some of the hundreds of Navajo families dwelling there. To get to this portion of Utah, you have to drive through Arizona first. It’s about 90 miles north of Tuba City, and more than an hour’s drive to Page, Ariz. As you drive along Highway 98 before turning off onto Route 16, Navajo Mountain appears as a floating island along the horizon. It is the only visible mountain around. At an elevation of 10,416 feet, its distinct laccolithic dome, indeed, dominates.

Looking north from Navajo Mountain High School.

In sharp contrast, those who dwell around the sacred mountain do so rather inconspicuously. The homes and Hogans do not blend into the terrain so much as they are enveloped by it, like tiny rafts on a vast sea. You wouldn’t know that more than 300 households are nestled between junipers and Colorado pinions along the 6,000foot plateau leading up to the mountain. You get an inkling, though, if you drive the lonely route early enough in the morning to catch a glimpse of freshly scrubbed students waiting in groups along the roadside for their school bus. It is as though they magically emerged from out of the trees.

Approaching the mountain on the right-hand side of the road, are two handsome red rock pillars propping up a dilapidated four-foot by eight-foot billboard with fading, hand-written words declaring: “Welcome to Utah.” The bus may be crossing a state line, but it’s not really Utah. This is sovereign territory of the Navajo Nation. It is a place unlike any other in the United States. The stark contrast between the ways of life in Navajoland and the affluent nation that surrounds it, does not go unrecognized by Hank Stevens. He was raised on the reservation, but also spent time during his formative years with a family in San Bernardino, Calif., as a student with the LDS Church Indian Placement Program. “I went to sleep in one world and woke up in another,” he says.

The experience of living in a white man’s world had a profound impact on him. It brought him to a crossroad in his life. He says he knew the modern world had much to offer, but knew he needed to return to his native culture and way of life to help his people improve their lives and opportunities. It’s an incremental process in which every hammer wielded counts for something. “One nail at a time makes a big difference in what we do,” he says. You can see how he practices what he preaches when he climbs onto the roof where seven of the USU Eastern students work the first day shingling. The sun is beginning to set. It is getting colder and the students grow weary. He quietly grabs a hammer and commences to work alongside them. Clinching nails between

his front teeth, he moves swiftly as he hammers down the remaining roofing tiles. The students pick up their pace to match his. The job is done before the sun sets. Chia Yin Christina Lee, a freshmen from Taiwan, says it was hard work and she had to overcome her fear of heights while up on the roof that day, but that it was all worth it.

this land, a gradual change for good sweeping across the most remote Navajo chapter on the largest Indian reservation in the United States. The Navajo Mountain Chapter spans 388,000-square-miles from Lake Powell to the Navajo Mountain community. The community itself consists of at least 379 people, 93 households and 79 families. Their median income of $14,196 places 65 percent of the population below the poverty line, according to the 2000 census.

they are not opposed to change either, especially if it adds to comforts of life. They are just geographically challenged. Change requires a good, heavy duty truck to get there; also generators to power tools and many helping hands. That is where the students come in. Sunscreen maybe, but no spring-break beaches were in store for any of these young men and women

“One nail at a time makes a big difference in what we do.”

“I liked seeing the finished product,” she says. “I feel good. That house looked awesome.”

Stevens says there are still too many families without access to running water or electricity, like the five families still eking a living in a rugged canyon at the base of Navajo Mountain where they have lived since the mid-1800s.

And so it goes. One nail at a time; one house at a time. It is, like the winds that have shaped

Not that they are complaining. Stevens says it is where they choose to be; it is their home. But

who counted among them a dozen international students. Under the direction of Terry Johnson, SUN Center program coordinator, all volunteer to spend their free time to experience finger numbing temperatures while hammering, sawing and painting homes at all stages of construction.

Phoebe Shea

Jarlin Divison

Charles Yang with John Yazzie Lowe

Students building a frame of the house.

Jairo Feliz

Kelsie Gajewsky and Ben Bjarnson

Students pushing up a wall of the house

They initially break into two groups. One stays in the more densely populated Navajo Mountain community and the other drives an additional two hours west to set up camp on a windy canyon rim. For the most part, the students work with little interaction with Navajo residents. While some of the residents quietly welcome the students and express appreciation for their help, they mostly hang in the background. Considering the organized chaos of the various projects, this is probably a wise choice. Having successfully painted a new house and shingling another the day before, the Navajo Mountain group joins their canyon-rim peers a day ahead of schedule. The last hour of their journey includes maneuvering across deep red sands along a roughed-out washboard road. Looking out the window to see free-range horses galloping alongside the bus only adds to the mystique of this alluring landscape, so large and so largely forgotten by time. One nail at a time. One sceptic tank at a time. One roof for catching and storing rain water at a time. One solar panel at a time. And one small group of students from USU Eastern making a difference by swinging hammers and holding lumber, Stevens said. Since 2003, when he helped to organize a small non-profit organization called the Navajo Mountain Water Users Association, his strategy

has been simple, but unpretentiously effective. By establishing a non-profit, the chapter has been eligible to receive grants for materials and to tap rich resources from various government agencies as the Bureau of Reclamation and the United States Department of Agriculture. He learned that if he could draw a rough schematic for a water harvesting structure, the Bureau of Reclamation could take it from there and help him transform it from a building solely for catching and retaining water into a structure that could serve both as a water harvester and a sturdy shelter for a family. Thanks to USU Eastern students from the year before who braved the elements atop the breezy canyon rim, they had already helped to bury a sceptic tank, run water lines and pour a cement foundation. Building upon that foundation, this year’s student volunteers transform lumber and nails into a fully framed and roofed-in structure in just three days. A new home for a family of four that will soon be fitted with a solar panel for running water and electricity. Miranda Cox, from Bear River, Utah, was one of the students who helped pour the foundation the year before. She says it was immensely satisfying to be able to come back and finish the job.

“Not many can say they’ve built a house before. It’s awesome to look at what we were able to do together.” Along the way, Marissa Urie, of Ferron, Utah, develops a new appreciation for nails and teamwork. “I liked to see it all come together,” she says. “To see how a few nails and wood can make a whole wall and eventually a house.” Stevens, who is taking a week off from work to coordinate the student projects, says he has more projects lined up for the future – both big and little. “I was born into this world with nothing,” he says. “Now I have a house, a good job and can do certain things. I want to give what I have. I want to help other people and give them a boost.” Considering the mountain whose shadows he and the students are laboring under, it’s not just a duty, but a sacred one; a commitment worth completing, even if it takes them to the end of the Earth. - John DeVilbiss

“To be able to work with your friends on something like building a house — wow,” she says.

Adding Some Backbone to the Prehistoric Museum

What pile of bones doesn’t long for a vertebrate paleontologist? It’s Carrie Herbel to the rescue! Hired in November as chief preparator at Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum. Her emphasis on vertebrate paleontology and extensive fieldwork in seven states merely touches the surface of this scholar’s vita. She began almost immediately to tackle the puzzling task of assembling the museum’s stegosaurus skeleton that sat for many years as a collection of bones. You can almost see a smile begin to form on the face of this little plant-eating dinosaur. Growing up in Nebraska, Herbel earned a geology degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed post-graduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania and Bryn Mawr College. She returned to U of N where she earned her master’s of science degree in geology.

Herbel continued her studies at the Conservation of Geological Materials International Projects of London, Advanced Geological Conservation Methods International Academic Projects of London, Leadership Rapid City and post-graduate courses at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. She worked at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Museum of Geology and the University of Nebraska State Museum. She also worked at the National Parks Service in Lincoln, Neb. While supervising over 100 employees each year at the Museum of Geology, she is most proud of obtaining over $1 million in grant money during her last 10 years at the museum. Authoring 29 publications, she anticipates that her textbook, “Museum Methods in Vertebrate Paleontology – From the Laboratory, to Collections and Research” will be published in 2015.

The remoteness of the vast area of Southeastern Utah does not intimidate her. She brings with her plenty of experience working in remote field areas under extreme conditions. She was a lead member of a salvage operation for two and a half months where she camped out near a remote Barstovian site near Valentine, Neb., with no potable water. Her personal research interests are taphonomy of vertebrate fossil localities and ages, Cenozoic Bistratigraphy, improving field and lab methods and techniques, education in many environments, how bone changes over time and becomes fossilized (diagensis), and, finally, conservation of specimens from field to lab to collections to exhibits. Herbel arrived at USU Eastern when she re-entered the job market after the passing of her mother. “I was very lucky to be interviewed by several institutions,” she says. “I wanted a challenge and to live in a place where I could really put my roots down. This area is incredible in its history, archaeology and paleontology.” She says the museum is well known and that it is a place where she believes she can make a difference in many different ways. “It’s definitely an exciting change for me,” she said. One of most well known attributes about the USU Eastern Museum is the amount of complete dinosaur skeletons it houses. Research in the past decades determined that the large dinosaurs at the museum were highly mobile creatures and its employees started redesigning the exhibits to portray this concept. This is where Herbel’s experience of preparing fossils is so valuable.

While her expertise lies in fossil mammals, the Prehistoric Museum has only a few specimens within the collections. Even though dinosaurs are the big, cool fossils, these ancient mammals are also a part of the surrounding area and can tell observers a lot about prehistoric conditions and environments.

Her major exhibit efforts include: The Mesozoic Gallery at the U of Nebraska State Museum; portions of exhibits at the Visitors Centers of Badlands National Park and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument; and a few specimens at Ashfall Fossil Beds Nebraska State Park.

Photo by John DeVilbiss

She has extensive experience in designing and producing exhibits from making molds, casts, designs and installations. She taught a class for undergraduate and graduate students, “Museum Conservation and Exhibit Design” with many of her former students now working in museums throughout the United States.

“I hope I can add to this facet of the museum, in addition to aid in fleshing out the incredible richness of Utah’s dinosaurs,” she says. “All these fossils need someone like me who has the goal of recovering, stabilizing and preserving these specimens now and for well into the future.” It is her motto: do no harm to fossil specimens and protect them for

the next 100 years, if not more. Short term goals for Herbel is learning how to put together a Stegosaurus, followed by a Camarasaurus and then a Diploducus.

Ken Carpenter Ph.D., director

of the museum, has a wealth of experience installing dinosaurs in exhibits, while her experience has been with small skeletons of fossil mammals.

“I want to learn from him and become as capable as possible of bringing these bones to life within an exhibit,” she says. “A definite challenge that I am up for.” Carpenter said the museum is fortunate to have Herbel. “She brings a lot of important skills and experiences that make her a valuable asset,” he says. “We are very lucky to have her.” In discussing her long-term goals, she plans to expand outreach, education and encourage people to participate with her in the field, the lab and within the museum exhibits that focus on all aspects of vertebrate paleontology. “I want to share my knowledge with volunteers and students of all ages so my work will continue long after I am gone,” she says. “To be someone that can make a difference within science education and to promote science for young people, especially girls and women, to get excited and involved.” She says the geological features of the area takes her breath away every day during her drive to and from work. “To be able to look out my back door at home and see the looming Book Cliffs is stunning,” she says. “I keep telling myself, ‘I really live here.’ To know that I moved to an area rich in so much history, archaeology and vertebrate paleontology, makes me feel blessed in many ways.” - Susan Polster

A Force for Good W

hether you are college-age or older, maneuvering across a career tightrope can be stressful, especially if there is no safety net below.

skills lab staff, he was able to progress through the courses needed to get him ready to begin taking college-credit classes.

The center recently moved into the old art building on the heels of a Mario Alaniz, of East Carbon, Utah, felt that panic major remodel of the aging facility. The newly refurbished structure, when suddenly he was no longer able to perform with its open and spacious lobby area, provides a warm and welcoming his work responsibilities due to an injury at work. environment for commuHe felt helpless and vulnernity businesses and for “I feel like my self-esteem has improved and look forable. He also felt great relief students of all ages. when he learned about Utah ward to a positive future with my new education,” he says. “I could not have reached this point if it weren’t State University Eastern Center for Workforce Defor the help and encouragement I received.” velopment. A safety net did Its convenient location next to the student center was not by accident, exist, after all. says USU Eastern Chancellor Joe Peterson. It was purposely relocated Although it had been a while since he had attended along a prominent and busy corridor of the campus to better serve as a school, he said that with the help of the center’s campus and community hub.

Photos by John DeVilbiss

Mario Alaniz, of East Carbon, says the center has helped him change the course of his life.

Some of the USU Eastern Center for Workforce Development staff members on opening day of their new building in January. They are (left to right): Center Director Russell Goodrich, Stacy Abbott, Kerstine Fausett, Ryan Murray, Ethan Migliori, and Kim Mortensen.

USU Eastern Chancellor Joe Peterson and Shelly Ivie, Division of Workforce Services regional director, cut the ribbon celebrating the opening of the newly located Center for Workforce Development in early January.

Within this locus, a suite of services for the community and students are offered. On the community side, for example, the center provides business and economic development and job placement advising. For students, the center provides job readiness skills and helps them obtain certificates in a variety of fields such as certified nursing assistant, automotive and welding technology, says Russell Goodrich, associate vice chancellor over professional and technical education. The center provides clear pathways for classes needed to prepare students for college and classes needed to prepare other students for high-wage vocations, Goodrich says. “We help people determine where they are now and then we take them one step beyond where they initially thought they could go,” he says.

This individualized approach has made all the difference for Mario in mapping out a new course for his life. “This support system has helped me progress in tremendous ways,” he says. “I have been able to change the direction of my life in a very positive and dramatic way.” Being able to take college classes gave him new confidence and renewed his sense of purpose. “I feel like my self-esteem has improved and look forward to a positive future with my new education,” he says. “I could not have reached this point if it weren’t for the help and encouragement I received.” - John DeVilbiss

The Brown Music Center was named for Dorothy and Deane Brown. Dorothy was posthumously inducted into the Utah Music Educator’s Hall of Fame on Feb. 6.

Her Song Lives On If

anyone noticed a starburst gleam in the silver metallic lettering on the familiar red-brick building of the Utah State University Eastern Brown Music Center, don’t be alarmed. Probably a few stray rays found its way from a spotlight that shown brightly on Dorothy Brown’s legacy, 28 years after her passing, when she was inducted into the Utah Music Educator’s Hall of Fame on Feb. 6, at the association’s conference in St. George, Utah. The Brown Music Center building is named after Dorothy and her husband Deane, who also directed choirs in the Carbon School District.

Dorothy’s son George (far right) accepted the Utah Music Educator’s Hall of Fame award during the induction ceremony. Pictured (L-R): UMEA President Elect Sam Tsugawa, UMEA President Greg Wheeler, Cecil Jorgensen (Dorothy’s brother) and George.

More than 700 were in attendance at the ceremony where the nominating committee and board told how Dorothy, as an educator, offered a level of music unmatched in this state, especially the rural areas. Dorothy’s love for music began at an early age when she learned to play both the piano and oboe. Her earliest award: first group rating from the Music Supervisor’s National Conference and National Bureau for the Advancement of Music for an oboe solo in the Utah State and Intermountain Music Contest was in 1934. She earned a double major in music and English at Brigham Young University where she was an oboist in the university orchestra and where she met her lifelong companion Deane, who was a violinist in the orchestra. Throughout their lives, Deane and Dorothy made music together as she accompanied his

Photo by Robert Coleman, UMEA Journal Editor

Photo by John DeVilbiss

violin solos on the piano. According to her son George, the Browns had four musical children: David, Jared, George and Dolores, who each excelled in music. Dorothy worked more than 34 years as a choral director and music educator in the elementary, secondary and college level. Stories shared by her colleagues and former students are a tribute to her life and evidence of her illustrious career. Her choirs consistently took top awards in regional, state and multi-state competitions. She has won many honors through the years including Outstanding Music Educator of Utah, College of Eastern Utah Founder’s Day Award, Beta Sigma Phi Sorority’s First Lady of Price and Price Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award. Whether at home, school or church and civic settings, she promoted a love of music throughout the community and state. An excellent piano and vocal coach, Dorothy taught piano and voice lessons in her home, in addition to preparing groups for performances. Her influence was widespread, as she helped prepare operettas, musicals, vocal groups, solos and instrumental groups for community performances. In her memoirs, Dorothy wrote about a lesson she learned early in her teaching career.

“I realized that you teach a child, not the subject,” she wrote. “I found out how important a one-on-one relationship is with students.” Another USU Eastern music educator, Derral Siggard, was inducted into the UMEA Hall of Fame in 2010. Susan Polster

THE POWER TO

CHANGE FOR GOOD

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I AM SO GLAD I DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN BEING WITH MY KIDS AND CONTINUING MY EDUCATION. THANKS TO USU-ONLINE, I AM DOING BOTH AT THE SAME TIME.

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A COLLEGE CAMPUS unlike any other in Utah

Education is TRANSFORMATION It transforms hopes and dreams into realities. It is a powerful force for good because success spawns success. The Blanding Campus has a unique role in the USU Eastern mission to prepare those who live in the Four-Corners area. Its accomplishment in helping students find a place in the world, the majority whom are Native American, sets it apart from any other campus in Utah. The college was recognized as the third best in the nation for graduation success â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a tip of the hat to a special campus honing remarkable students in an extraordinary part of our state.

eastern.usu.edu 26

POST Academy to Open at USU Eastern W

ith all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed, Utah State University Eastern has a Utah Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) satellite academy starting fall semester 2014.

and especially, the firearms facility at the North Springs Shooting Range. One of the WETC buildings at the mouth of Indian Canyon will also be used for a building-search class, Henrie said.

Weber State University, Salt Lake Community College, Utah Valley University and Dixie State University each have satellite academies on their respective campuses. There are none on the Wasatch Back and that’s where USU Eastern criminal justice Associate Professor Scott Henrie wants to fill the void. He wants students from Vernal to Monticello to have access to USU Eastern’s academy as well as from the Wasatch Front.

“Our campus has been used for POST in-service training for years,” he said. “Each police officer must complete 40 hours of training each year so this entire pre- and post-service for police officers should prove to be worthwhile.”

Henrie said the state of Utah regulates POST programs and each satellite academy cannot be located within 50 miles of another POST certification program. He secured a letter of support from local law enforcement administrators and submitted a plan to the state of how USU Eastern would run the academy. With three-full binders of POST curriculum on his desk, he is ready to launch the program on the Price campus. It will be offered in three blocks: SFO (special functions officer), BCO (basic corrections officer) and LEO (law enforcement officer).

Henrie met with the state-wide POST board the end of March as the final piece of the puzzle to begin the program fall semester. He will spend the next five months marketing the program to achieve his goal of between 15 and 25 students in each of the three blocks. If a student is interested in the program, there is an application process he or she must go through. Students are required to take a general aptitude national peace officers’ selection test. While the mathematics portion may trip up some students, especially if they haven’t taken a math class in a while, Henrie said they can re-take the test until they pass it. They also have to pass a physical test with four components: vertical jump, sit ups, push ups and a 1.5 mile run.

After a student completes any POST program, they have one year to obtain employment in any law enforcement field before they lose their ability to be certified. Criminal justice has been a popular program on the USU Eastern campus. Three sections of 1010 (introduction to criminal justice) were offered with 220 students registered from throughout Utah fall semester 2013. Henrie said there are 60-criminal-justice-emphasis students on campus presently.

“With our successful criminal justice program, graduates can continue their education at the POST academy on campus,” he said. The annual summer law enforcement specialty courses will continue with Henrie and Richard Walton, Ed.D., directing the program. “Our hope is to increase our enrollment so we build a specialized criminal justice school where national experts are brought in to offer advanced crime scene investigation,” Henrie said. “Our eventual goal is to have USU Eastern be the training center for law enforcement in Eastern Utah.” Susan Polster

The SFO and BCO blocks are seven-week programs each. LEO training is more intense and will be 13 weeks. All classes will be offered five nights per week, four to five hours, with two Saturday trainings. The program offers six classes in the SFO section, six in the BCO and seven in the LEO. Because the POST academy is offered at USU Eastern, students will be working for a degree and can qualify for financial aid to pay tuition. They will also be counted in the full-time equivalent student count.

“We’re gearing the program for people who need to work during the day and take evening classes,” Henrie said. All of the instructors will be certified POST teachers like Jason Marshall, a USU Eastern adjunct faculty who works for the Utah Highway Patrol full time; he is certified to teach firearms, alcohol enforcement and radar. POST inspectors gave the thumbs up during their on-site inspection. They praised USU Eastern’s exceptional classrooms, exercise areas

USU Eastern students preparing a mold as part of their classwork in the Criminal Justice Lab.

USU Eastern Alumni on the Move How are you doing? We want to hear from you. Send your news to: USU Eastern at usueastern.edu/alumniupdate; Institutional Advancement Office 451 E. 400 N. Price, UT 84501 or email Vicki Noyes at: vicki.noyes@usu.edu

LynnAdams Adams Lynn ‘01

graduated from CEU and BYU and went to work for PwC in Denver. After a year, he took a controller position with an entrepreneurial company in Provo. After a year and half, his company merged with another company and he moved into a CFO position that oversaw the financial functions of the merged companies. He is president/CEO of USA Installs. The company does in-home installations of video, voice and data products.

HaroldArceneaux Arceneaux Harold ‘98

former CEU basketball player, was inducted into Weber State University’s 2014 WSU Athletic Hall of Fame. He came to CEU in 1996 as a freshman where he helped lead the Golden Eagles to a 28-5 record, winning the Scenic West Conference during the regular season. While at CEU, he shot 57.3 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from behind the three-point arc, helping him average 17.3 points per game. He played for professional teams on every continent, except Antarctica.

ThomasL Arnett L Arnett Thomas ’55

wrote to the editor of Utah State Magazine in reference to an article on USU Eastern that resonated strongly with him as a native of Price and a graduate of USU and Carbon College (USU Eastern). He wrote, “After my years at Carbon College - AS degree, plus BS from Utah State and MBA from Stanford University … I am pleased and proud to say that the education I received from both Utah Schools was first rate.”

Justin Bechaver Justin Bechaver ‘04

attended CEU in 2000 where he played baseball. He attended the Utah Crime Scene Academy hosted by CEU where he discovered, as well, that he had a passion for crime scene investigation and forensic science. He went on to study biochemistry at Eastern Oregon University. He completed a summer internship with the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services and the Bureau hired him where today he coordinates the state’s Crime Scene Response Team.

EddieGill Gill Eddie ‘98,

former CEU basketball player, was inducted into Weber State University’s 2014 WSU Athletic Hall of Fame. He came to CEU during

the 1996 season. While a Golden Eagle, he averaged 6.1 points and 2.4 assists. He continued his basketball career professionally in the NBA, playing for seven seasons with seven teams. In April 2001, as a member of the Indiana Pacers, he was a part of the event that would become known as “The Malice in the Palace” between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons.

KathyChristine Christine Howa Kathy Howa ’80

played softball at CEU and after earning her bachelor’s degree, became a Rowland Hall physical education instructor and softball coach. In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She knew the best way to eradicate the disease was help fund researchers. Howa founded her annual “Swing for Life,” an all-volunteer nonprofit that has raised more than $1 million in cancer research funds while educating young men and women about cancer awareness and community service.

ScottJensen Jensen Scott ‘93

graduated from CEU in 1993, University of Utah in 1997 in accounting and earned both a JD and MBA from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisc. in 2000. He is the managing partner and owner of Kramer & Jensen, LLC, a certified public accounting firm in Denver, Colo. As a certified public accountant, his practice focuses on tax planning, research and return preparation for a variety of individuals and business clients. He is a licensed attorney in the Wisconsin and Colorado.

TracyRalph Ralph Justesen Tracy Justesen ‘87

received his associate’s degree from CEU and went on to earn a master’s from USU. He received his jurisprudence from Drake University and LLM from George Washington University. He was nominated by Pres. George Bush to be assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services at the Department of Education (DOE). He currently serves as deputy director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research at the DOE.

TroyJustesen Justesen Troy ‘87

was CEU’s 2007 commencement speaker and also served in the Bush administration with the Department of Education as the assistant secretary of vocational and adult education at the U.S. Department of Education. He

was principal advisor to former Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling on matters of career, technical and adult education, as well as workforce and economic development.

Michael Marion, Jr Michael W.W. Marion, Jr. ‘99

earned an associate’s degree from CEU, a bachelors in public administration and a masters in multicultural counseling from San Diego State University. He earned an Ed.D in educational leadership from the University of Southern California. At CEU, he played two seasons for Coach Brain Zollinger, listed on several preseason All-America teams. Today Michael works at Cosumnes River College as the dean of counseling and student services in Sacramento, Calif.

Scott Frederick Scott Frederick ‘09

received the Kappa Tau Alpha Top Scholar award at the University of Utah for the department of communications on April 2, 2014, for his perfect 4.0 GPA. While at CEU, he was photo editor for six semesters and editor in chief his final year for The Eagle newspaper. He won several Utah Press Association awards for his sports photography and named top co-communication student his sophomore year.

Kevin Worthen Kevin J.J. Worthen ‘78

will become the 13th president of Brigham Young University on May 1. While a student at CEU, he was co-captain of the basketball team under Coach Curt Jenson. After graduating, he continued his education at BYU where he obtained his bachelor’s degree and graduated summa cum laude and first of his class from the J. Reuben Clark Law School. He served a U.S. Supreme Court clerkship for Justice Bryon. He is married to Peggy Sealey Worthen, a CEU alumna.

Holly Martak Yocom Holly Martak Yocom ‘98

was named by Utah Business Magazine for the Top Forty Under 40 Program in connection with her work advancing the Utah Film Center as its executive director. She serves on board of directors of Planned Parenthood, Utah Women’s Foundation and was the first female to receive the Roy W. Simmons Community Service Award from Zions Bank. As a student at CEU, she was a member of the cheer and song leading squad as well as a writer for The Eagle newspaper.

Triumph does not come without its challenges. The Geary Theatre still needs your help.

Functionality to Equal the Heritage Fifteen years in the making, Utah State University Eastern will finally be home to a new landmark instruction building. The years of hard work and persistence, blood, sweat and tears will make way for the sound of creation. Nothing indicates a commitment to the future like the construction of a new signature building on a college campus. In addition to the new construction, other major changes on campus include the taking down of the structurally dangerous Brown Music Building. While it will be sad to see this building go, the Brown name will continue to be honored in the music wing of our sterling new building. We will also see the razing of the woefully dilapidated Old Student Activity Center (Vocational Building). This will make the Geary Theatre the oldest building on campus and the only building that has been a part of all of the iterations of our institution, Carbon

College, College of Eastern Utah and now Utah State University Eastern. One of the major triumphs of this endeavor is that the Geary has been saved! That tapestry of our history will continue to have the bright thread of the theater to bind the generations together. This triumph does not come without its challenges. The historic faĂ§ade of the building houses a woefully inadequate and outdated plumbing, electrical, sound, lighting and fire safety system, not to mention the dated seating and lobby.

The Geary Theatre Challenge has so far raised $55,000. The total upgrade will cost approximately $1 million. Your donation of $50, $100, $1,000, $10,000 or more will go a long way to ensure to make the Gearyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future remains as bright as the campus. All $1,000 and more donations will be memorialized with a plaque on one of the new Geary Theatre seats.

photo by Tyson Chappell

To make a donation go to: usueastern.edu/giving/vitalitycampaign/ or mail your donation to: Utah State University Eastern Institutional Advancement Office 451 East 400 North, Price, UT 84501 Phone: 435-613-5256

Let the rising tide of the new Central Instruction Building also lift our grand old Geary Theatre to keep it pertinent in our lives. The time is now. We need your help! Brad King USU Eastern Alumni President

While the new construction project addresses the seismic safety of the Geary, there are no refurbishing funds to match the transformation that the new Central Instruction Building (CIB) will bring to campus. The old theater needs the functionality of the inside to match the heritage of the outside.

Institutional Advancement Office 451 East 400 North Price, UT 84501

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

NEW CENTRAL INSTRUCTION BUILDING

GROUNDBREAKING please join us April 25, 2014 at 6 pm

O P E N H O U S E w i t h r e m a r k s f r o m o ffi c i a l s f o l l o w e d b y CEREMONIAL GROUNDBREAKING outside at the new building site 28

Refreshments will be served