Utah Tech University

DSU student Baylee Nelson-McKeachnie took second place in the Best Student Film awards at the Red Rock ScreenDance Film Festival last week with her film "Reformation". Inspired by the song "One by Sleeping at Last," the film is about perfectionism and striving to be the absolute best at everything you do. The Red Rock ScreenDance Film Festival is an international event filled with dance-film platforms in conjunction with the Red Rock Dance Festival, held in St. George, Utah. This has been the first year the film festival was introduced, while the Red Rock Dance Festival completed its 13th year. With submissions accepted nationwide, three major awards were given with titles of first, second and third place. These awards include Best Overall Film, Best Editing and Best Student Film.

Brooke Marchetti-Curtis; a senior 23-year-old Trailblazer, recently won second place in a film festival titled Concorsi di Danza, held in Florence, Italy. Her film, "Searching for a Feeling" was inspired by the research process of creating movement that resembles looking for someone or something, the journey of getting to that final place, and your body's reaction once you've found it. Not only was her film submitted in the Concorsi di Danza Choreography Competition held in Florence, Italy, but it has also been featured in the Undergraduate Research Symposium at Dixie, Red Rock Choreography Competition and was recognized in the Red Rock ScreenDance Film Festival held earlier this month.

As a recent graduate from Dixie State University, Connor Lee has been awarded a $70,000 scholarship as part of a graduate program at Longy School of Music, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he will pursue his master's degree in Vocal Studies. With many musical talents starting at the age of seven, Connor has taken advantage of multiple opportunities during his college career to elevate his musical talents to new heights.

Due to the emergence of COVID-19, the need for registered nurses skyrocketed this past year. Therefore, with approval from the Utah State Board of Nursing, a Nurse Apprentice Program was designed for Dixie State University students in their senior year to help fast track their nursing careers while expanding the nurse workforce. The program was organized in the spring of 2020 and launched into full gear by January, 2021. Traditionally, students would not have been provided with increased opportunities such as involvement into an apprenticeship program until after graduation and passing their NCLEX exam. However, 12 participating DSU seniors, all in their final semester and in good academic standing with the University, actively practiced in the community under professional supervision gaining hands-on, real-life clinical experiences while also becoming part of the pandemic solution.

This week Dixie State University's Alumni Association announced the Dixie 11, celebrating eleven extraordinary bachelor's degree candidates of 2021 who have excelled in academics as well as university and community involvement. Dixie 11 awardees were honored at a dinner held on campus on April 28 and also received a letter of commendation from the University President for their remarkable achievements.

Dixie State University student and Eden Technologies Founder and CEO Hunter Manz, along with company Co-Founder Zack Manweiler, successfully secured $100,000 to help fund their desalination invention and address water scarcity issues in needed areas. Eden Technologies' desalination invention removes the salt from ocean water to generate pure drinking water. The device has its own energy recovery system which sets it apart from other desalination systems. With the initial funds secured, Eden Technologies will now begin to construct a fully-functional prototype of their desalination machine as well as obtain an international patent. Once the prototype is completed, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation of Saudi Arabia has agreed to consider allocating funding to develop a much larger commercial model if results stay consistent with previous data.

Dixie State University students Cajun Syrett and Riley Randall recently won first place against eight other couples at the BYU Dancesport Festival on November 15-16, 2019, in the Cabaret category of the championship. Cajun and Riley are now eligible to go on to compete with dancers from all over the world in Manhattan at the New York Dance Festival in February 2020.

Showcasing Dixie State University's international students, 2021 DSU International Pageant was held on Thursday, April 15th as an opportunity for students to showcase their cultural background and heritage. Participating students gave spectacular performances including song and dance, cultural attire, and history. Students from all around the world, including Japan, Vietnam, Honduras, China, and Ecuador took the stage with smiling faces and heritage pride.