Utah Tech University

Utah Tech University's Blaze Dance Team recently made history at the USA National Finals competition held in Anaheim, California. The only collegiate team to earn medals in both of their categories, the team placed second in Jazz and third in Hip Hop. The team dedicated hundreds of hours to learning their routines and preparing for the competition, which required them to have an immense love for the sport along with a lot of heart. Unlike many of their competitors, the Blaze Dance Team didn't have an entire season to prepare for the competition because the team serves as one of the main forms of entertainment for two sports, football and basketball. "My main purpose this year was to instill in them the belief that they can accomplish anything they set their hearts and minds to," Head Coach Kori Esplin said. "It was really special to see them overcome so much and be able to end up doing and performing their very best." As the team grows and continues to work hard and dream big, they hope to earn a national title at next year's competition.

Six Utah Tech University students were recently honored at Utah Tech's Black Excellence Gala, an annual event created to celebrate and honor Trailblazers for excelling in various areas or making a difference in the community. This event is also an opportunity for students to nominate other students for their successes and accomplishments. At the event, students were recognized for accomplishments that make the community proud. Select students, faculty, staff, and community members also received Drum Major Awards for being an agent for change and diversity in their field or community.

After being inspired by a class discussion and recognizing a need on campus, three Utah Tech University students jumped into action and created the Students Against Trafficking Club on the UT campus. "This club got started after a conversation in a digital forensics class. Our President Jacie Parr, Vice President Spencer Truman, and I were talking with Professor (Mark) Spooner and another student who works with Operation Underground Railroad. It was brought up that at one point we had a students against trafficking club, and for reasons unknown to us, it fizzled out," said Kallie Meismer. "Trafficking to us was an abhorrent thought. It happens all around the world, and as much as people don't see it, it happens here in America. We decided that afternoon that it was important to us that we brought awareness to the matter, helped raise funds for groups that help to shut down some of these operations, and educated people on the warning signs." The club, which is comprised of 86 members, accomplishes these goals and raises awareness among students about the warning signs of trafficking through bringing guest speakers to the university and hosting campus events.

Most students competing in college intramural sports wouldn't expect it to take them out of town or even off campus, but a group of students from Utah Tech University playing co-ed intramural flag football traveled to both Lincoln, Nebraska, and Round Rock, Texas, to compete with other college intramural teams. The students, after playing at the University and winning overall, were able to travel and stay in Lincoln, Nebraska, and compete in the regional tournament. After winning three games over the weekend and claiming the regional title overall, the team had the chance to fly to Round Rock, Texas, in January and compete in the national championships.

Senior students from Utah Tech University's Dental Hygiene program recently became laser certified after Ultradent Products Inc. donated six Gemini Dental Lasers to UT's public dental hygiene clinic and Department of Dental Hygiene. Laser certification enables the program to provide students with more opportunities to be prepared for clinical practice and expands services available to patients treated at the clinic. "Being laser certified in the field of dental hygiene opens the door to many clinical opportunities," Alyse Crosby, a senior dental hygiene student, said. "This has fueled my passion for the profession, inspired me to pursue further learning and provided me with a deeper understanding of oral health." As part of the certification process, 23 dental hygiene students, along with 15 faculty members, underwent 12 hours of continuing education and an exam, which prepared the clinicians to use dental hygiene laser therapy in any state that requires certification. The state of Utah doesn't currently require certification to use these lasers, but for students looking to be employed out of the state, this certification makes them more marketable.

Utah Tech University students excelled in the classroom during the Fall 2022 semester with 1,468 UT students, or 11 percent of the student body, earning Dean's List honors. Inclusion on the Dean's List requires students to complete a minimum of 15 credits and achieve a GPA of 3.5 to 3.89. "On behalf of the faculty and staff, congratulations to all Utah Tech students who made the 2022 Fall semester honor roll list," said Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Michael Lacourse. "Your hard work and persistence have paid off and you should be proud of your achievement. Keep up the great work and we hope to see your name on the honor roll for the Spring 2023 semester."

Participating as a team, Utah Tech University students received the Meritorious Award in SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equations Modeling 2022, an international mathematical modeling competition. From all over the world, 327 students sent in their solutions to an open-ended problem, which were reviewed by five judges worldwide.

Two teams from Utah Tech University received the Outstanding Award in the SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equations Modeling, an international mathematical modeling competition. From all over the world, 327 students sent in their solutions to an open-ended problem, which were reviewed by five judges worldwide. In total, 27 teams received the Outstanding Winner designation.

Utah Tech University students excelled in the classroom during the Fall 2022 semester with 1,282 UT students, or 10 percent of the student body, earning President's List honors. Inclusion on the President's List requires students to complete a minimum of 15 credits and achieve a GPA of 3.9 or higher. "On behalf of the faculty and staff, congratulations to all Utah Tech students who made the 2022 Fall semester honor roll list," said Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Michael Lacourse. "Your hard work and persistence have paid off and you should be proud of your achievement. Keep up the great work and we hope to see your name on the honor roll for the Spring 2023 semester."

Helping spread the message of kindness, Utah Tech University design major True Jarrel recently illustrated "Let Kindness Grow: A Bison's Tale" as a part of the Semnani Family Foundation's One Kind Act a Day campaign. Earlier this summer, Jarrel also redesigned UT's Brooks the Bison character while interning at Utah Tech University's Marketing & Communication office. This redesign led to them to creating the illustrations for the children's book. The One Kind Act a Day initiative is intended to make kindness a daily habit. This inititiave was born from the Semnani Family Foundation and is rooted in the belief that one small act of kindness, when done by many, can lead to big changes in our lives and world.

The Utah Tech Pickleball Club competed in the first National Collegiate Pickleball tournament recently and placed second overall. This was the first-ever collegiate tournament where all the college teams met in one spot to play for a championship under the same Major League Pickleball rules and regulations. The Utah Tech team consisted of players Matt Morgan, Dylan Ciampani, and Max and Kate Nadauld, with Hunter Aiono, Kylar Lemmon, and Brandon Chesley attending as support staff.

Every semester, the Utah Tech University Student Association Student Senate hosts the Student of the Semester banquet to recognize and celebrate student achievements within every academic department across campus. "Each recipient is selected by the department chair in collaboration with the faculty within their department," Karson Ray, UTSA vice president of academics, said. "It is extremely special to be the one student selected from the department and that deserves to be celebrated." The banquet serves as a way to congratulate students for the dedication and passion they have demonstrated toward their studies throughout the semester. This year, UTSA Student Senate recognized 44 individuals - 43 students and one professor.

Earlier this month, students in Utah Tech University's Physical Therapist Assistant program and University of Utah's Doctor of Physical Therapy program provided customized electric kids' cars to eight children with mobility disabilities. This is the fourth time that Utah Tech has participated in the Go Baby Go program, a project that primarily focuses on giving children with mobility disabilities an opportunity to develop, grow, and play with their peers more easily.

As a part of Homecoming Week festivities, the Miss Utah Tech University pageant provides students with the opportunity to showcase their talents, share their social impact initiatives, and compete for the chance to win a series of scholarships. Zoe Sewell was crowned Miss Utah Tech University for the 2022-2023 school year. Sewell impressed the judges with her social impact intiative, Healthy Habits, and her performance of "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman. Sewell was joined on stage by her three attendants: first attendant, Katherine Walker; second attendant, Gracey Fowers; and third attendant, Samantha Bartholomew. The Miss Utah Tech competition consists of participating in a private interview with the judges, pitching a social impact initiative, answering an on-stage question from the judges, and demonstrating a talent. The winner of Miss Utah Tech University also earns the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss Utah. Along with the crowning of Miss Utah Tech University and her three attendants, several contestants received special awards at the end of the night to recognize the unique strengths they demonstrated throughout the competition. The Team Player Award was given to Tessa Welch for her willingness to support and uplift the other contestants. Kate Backus was awarded the Service Award for her social impact initiative focusing on uplifting individuals with special needs in the community. The Trailblazer Spirit Award was given to Elizabeth Martin for her positive attitude throughout the competition, and Trinity Altena was honored with the Woman Empowerment Award.

Sophie Phelps, a 19-year-old sophomore at Utah Tech University, claimed her second motocross national champion title in August at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Phelps made her first nationals appearance at age 13, finishing in 17th place, and steadily improved until she won first in the women's division last year in 2021 and defended her title this year. Phelps is studying mechanical engineering at Utah Tech, stating that she would like to use what she learns to someday design helmets or parts for bikes.

Southern Utah's canyon tree frog population is dropping, and dropping fast. Curt Walker, a professor at Utah Tech University, took it upon himself in 2008 to raise awareness and get to the bottom of the mysterious, growing absence of the once thriving population. Nearly 15 years later, and Walker still ventures out to places like Zion National Park and Quail Creek State Park each week with various students from Utah Tech University. The group has come to two conclusions - one, that the consistent drought in St. George is affecting the water-dependent species; and two, a fungus called chytrid is common in the local communities of canyon tree frogs.

This summer Utah Tech students Ethan Allen and Janna Brown, along with Dr. Ka-Wai Yu of the UT Music Department, visited Saarburg, Germany to perform in the Saarburg Music Festival. Allen performed a total of four times and Brown performed five times at the festival. Additionally, the experience of mingling with others who had already established a career path in music was valuable to both students, helping reinforce what they wanted to pursue as well as push them to new levels.

Utah Tech University recently celebrated its first group of graduates. Twenty-four students earned their Associate of Science degrees in Nursing and were honored at a pinning ceremony in early August. "These graduates are outstanding examples of those who are seeking excellence and professional growth." Associate Professor of Nursing Judy Scott said. "After graduation from the AASN program, all are ready to enter our RN-BSN program to continue to grow and learn." Utah Tech partnered with Dixie Technical College to provide pathway options for students who have already become licensed practical nurses or earned their paramedic certifications and want to work toward becoming a registered nurse.

Utah Tech University student Dusty Hart recently competed in the SkillsUSA national competition in Atlanta, Georgia where he was awarded first place for his screen-printing ability. Hart won a small printing press, an ink mixing system, a ticket to a MADE Lab class in Texas, and 500 dollars. Initially, Hart participated in the screen-printing competition at the post-secondary level. He entered the state competition, held at Salt Lake Community College, where he also won first place for his quality screen-printing work.

Seven Utah Tech students, led by Professor Robert Kagabo, took just over three weeks of their summer to travel to Uganda, participate in humanitarian work and learn more about health and social challenges there. The students, majoring in degrees such as pre-med, nursing, biology, and population health, were able to fully immerse themselves in the country and the various cultures found within. In Uganda, the students conducted community-based participatory research, letting the local community make decisions and the group assisting with those decisions. The group also learned about the public health challenges that affected the area, like malaria, the West Nile Virus, Ebola, and a rise in teen pregnancy since the instating of a quarantine to protect the public against COVID-19.

Learning more about their art and working on their craft, select Utah Tech University dance students recently returned from participating in the Florence Summer Dance experience. The three-week intensive Study Abroad program offers students the opportunity to network with international artists, develop character, and release their artistic expression.

Kylee Newsome, an intern with Utah Tech's Digital Forensics Crime Lab, had the unique opportunity to spend six weeks at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences this summer. She spent this time exploring the Forensic Sciences program and piloting an upcoming student exchange program between Utah Tech University and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. While Newsome's emphasis at Utah Tech is Digital Forensics and Defense, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences emphasized additional programs, broadening Newsome's knowledge of forensics studies. As part of this opportunity, Newsome watched students participate in a mock fire crime scene investigation, listened to graduate students present their thesis projects, and gave a briefing to the Dutch students on American Universities and career paths post graduation. Newsome was also able to make connections with the Netherlands Forensic Institute and tour a local police department. For Newsome, Amsterdam offered a well-rounded experience beyond classroom studies, with weekend trips to Germany and Belgium, a river cruise, and time to immerse herself in a new culture. According to Newsome, it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. "Amsterdam was an amazing experience where I was able to learn about forensic sciences like biology and chemistry. It was a good way to broaden my knowledge of the field that I am studying."

Sebastian Hotalen, a member of Utah Tech University's Rodeo Club, is hitting the road to compete in the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming. Hotalen, who is from of Belgrade, Montana, said he is "feeling pretty confident" about competing as a bareback rider in Casper - and with good reason. This will be Hotalen's second appearance at the CNFR, missing his freshman year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he made it to the National High School Rodeo Finals three times, and in his senior year was named Top 15 out of high schoolers in the world. Outside of the arena, Hotalen is studying management at Utah Tech and is working toward becoming the first person in his family to earn a college degree.

Dixie State University theatre students participate in the first-ever Student Playwrights Festival, a nine-day event featuring 15 plays written, directed and performed by DSU students. Of the plays performed, ten were short plays, around ten-minutes long, and five of them were full-length plays. A total of 24 students either wrote or directed the plays and all worked hard to make the shows a success.

Dixie State University recently celebrated the achievements of the institution's largest-ever graduating class of 2,684 degree candidates at the university's 111th Commencement Ceremony. During the ceremony, held on May 6 in Greater Zion Stadium on the DSU campus, the university honored the Class of 2022, with 60 percent receiving bachelor's degrees, 38 percent associate degrees and two percent master's degrees. Candidates ranged from 16 to 79 years of age and included students from 49 states and 15 countries. Of the graduates, 63 percent are female and 37 percent are male.

Dixie State University Physical Therapist Assistant students participated in the Go Baby Go program, offering community children the gift of mobility through customized cars. "Through this program children with disabilities, as young as 7-9 months, are able to learn to control the cars and experience the world in a way the rest of us take for granted, choosing which direction to go and what to explore," said Drew Wilcox director of the Physical Therapist Assistant program. "This allows them to interact, to learn, to grow and to develop an awareness of their world that isn't possible when your entire world is reliant on others." DSU students met with the parents and their participating children to learn about each child's unique disability, their favorite color, the type of car they wanted and other things that make each child unique so the cars could be completely customized.

As a formal event patterned after the Academy Awards, Dixie State University's Dixie Awards ceremony has been a traditional part of student life at Dixie State for decades. This annual ceremony recognizes the accomplishments of Dixie State students, faculty, staff, community members and business who have shown a remarkable commitment to either DSU, particular programs, or organizations. The Dixie Award ceremony was held on April 29 and included a variety of categories with the top five finalists in each. The categories include: Teacher of the Year, Teacher of the Year - Rising Star, Part-Time Faculty of the Year, Distinguished Staff Member of the Year, Distinguished Staff Member of the Year - Rising Star, Student of the Year, Club of the Year, Stafford Student Involvement, Entertainer of the Year, Dixie Spirit, Heart of Dixie, and Commitment to Diversity.

Dixie State University's Alumni Association recently held the Dixie 11 event to celebrate eleven extraordinary bachelor's degree candidates of 2022 who have excelled in academics as well as university and community involvement. "After carefully reviewing over 70 applications for the Dixie 11 award, I was astonished and proud of the achievements of these students," said Alumni Association President Betty Barnum. "Clearly these applicants are the best of Dixie State University and the final 11 are the best of the best!"

Mechanical engineering students showcased their skills and hard work at Dixie State University's Engineering Design Day held this week. Hundreds of community members, families, and students gathered on campus to enjoy the numerous projects created by DSU's engineering students. Activities at Engineering Design Day included a series of mini golf courses designed by the freshmen, carnival games made by the sophomores, and a "turbo regatta" race, which involved a bundle of races between a normal, human-powered pedal boat and modified, battery-powered pedal boats built by the juniors. Seniors also had the chance to showcase their capstone projects, which included a bottle-flip simulator and a computer numerical control wire bender that was built at less than ten percent of the size of industrial wire benders. David Christensen, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, emphasized that this is the first graduating class of mechanical engineers that Dixie State University has ever had, with the program starting only in the fall of 2018. This was also the first year for the carnival segment of Engineering Design Day, and only the second year for the Turbo Regatta Race.

Five Dixie State University students have been accepted into various medical schools after completing the Utah Health Scholars program available to them at DSU. All are on track to continue their education and follow their dreams of working in the healthcare industry. UHS is a program that helps students on the healthcare path including but not limited to medical, dental, physician assistant and pharmacy.