UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY TOOELE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY

PROCESSIONAL

PRESENTATION OF THE COLORS

National Guard Junior Leaders Training Course, JLTC

NATIONAL ANTHEM

Debbie Winn Mayor

STUDENT SPEAKERS

Hayden Bell

Logan Merkley

ADDRESS TO GRADUATES

Gary Straquadine

Professor Emeritus, USU

CONFERRING OF DEGREES

Noelle E. Cockett

President, USU

PRESENTATION OF DIPLOMAS

Jennifer Cowburn

Associate Vice President, USU Tooele

GREETING TO GRADUATES

Steven L. Palmer

President of the USU Alumni Association & USU Trustee

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Rich Etchberger

Interim Vice President & Vice Provost, Statewide Campuses, USU

RECESSIONAL

GARY STRAQUADINE PROFESSOR EMERITUS, USU Commencement Speaker

Gary Straquadine came to the Tooele Regional Campus in 2009 as the first dean and executive director after working for nearly three years as the associate dean of the College of Agriculture at USU. Previously, he was vice provost of academic and faculty services at USU, and he served as the head of USU’s Department of Agricultural Systems Technology and Education. Straquadine served as USU Eastern’s interim chancellor from July 2018 until his retirement in 2022, and he was appointed associate vice president/vice provost for Career and Technical Education (CTE). In this role, Straquadine oversaw CTE in Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties. Straquadine has been responsible for program design and development for USU in southeastern Utah and has served in many leadership roles at Utah State.

As a former dean for the Tooele Regional Campus, Straquadine is well acquainted with the place-bound teaching and learning in Utah. He also served three years as a department chair at the Ohio State University before returning to USU at the Eastern campus.

Straquadine earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New Mexico State University in agricultural and Extension education and his doctorate in 1987 from The Ohio State University in agricultural education. Straquadine has published more than 70 professional manuscripts and scientific articles on agricultural and science education and related areas and has been awarded nearly $750,000 in extramural funding.

HAYDEN BELL Student Speaker

After he graduated from Box Elder High School in 2008, Hayden Scott Alfred Bell entered higher education at Weber State University, where he studied radiology and nuclear medicine. Soon after, Hayden started working in the IT department for Utah State University and decided to transfer in the spring of 2015 — and change his major from pre-med to business and technology systems.

Hayden is also a business owner and started his first business “Sanctuary Saunas” in 2021, building custom off grid backyard saunas using some of his own inventions. Hayden has more hobbies than most, from 3D printing toys and fidget devices that he donates to a children’s therapy office to playing the guitar and bodybuilding. Hayden enjoys exploring the outdoors and studying Noetic and Neuroscience in his free time. His fascination with technology is behind every hobby and interest pushing him towards his lifelong aspirations to change the future for the better.

Hayden graduated with his associate degree from USU in 2020 and his bachelor’s in technology systems in higher education with a minor in management of information systems in December 2022. Since graduation, Hayden has accepted the role of Technology Specialist and representative for facilitator broadcast support for USU statewide campuses, and he continues to grow his personal business.

LOGAN MERKLEY Student Speaker

Logan Merkley is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in information systems. Growing up in the Uintah Basin of Eastern Utah, Logan loved being in smaller towns where he could see the stars at night. Part of what drew him to Tooele was the darker night sky compared to Salt Lake City’s. Logan worked for the Utah State University Tooele campus from 2017 to 2018 as a classroom facilitator. He would spend his evenings assisting faculty and students after working at his full-time job during the day.

He has been married for 15 years and has six wonderful children. Logan has lived in Tooele for the last 10 years and has enjoyed every minute. He enjoys fishing, hiking, traveling, and playing video games. Now that he has finished his degree, Logan is looking forward to spending nights with his family instead of cooped up in his office doing homework.