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Mesa couple marking 73rd wedding anniversary
TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF
Enid and Walt Gustin won’t just be celebrating America’s 244th birthday next weekend.
On Saturday, July 3, the Mesa couple also will be marking 73 years since they tied the knot in a parsonage near their homes just outside of Fremont, Nebraska, a town with a population of about 3,000.
But they won’t be able to look back at pictures from their wedding or much of their life together.
All their mementoes from the past were destroyed in a horrifying windstorm in 1970, just a couple years after they had moved to Mesa.
They had a new mobile home – and it was about to become history.
“It was like a tornado or some type of burst of wind that blew a mobile home into our mobile home,” she said. “My daughter and I were at home and my husband was at work.” Another neighboring home was �lipped over and “there were �ive mobile homes in all that were destroyed,” she continued.
“We lost everything,” she said, recounting how they found a modestly furnished place in Paradise Valley and started remaking their lives.
But love triumphed for the two high school sweethearts. He was two grades ahead of her and they had met through their parents, who often played cards together.
Enid doesn’t remember exactly how Walt proposed, but she recalled that as a senior in high school, “I was working and kind of helping with the household and Enid and Walt Gustin of Mesa will be celebrating their 73rd wedding anniversary next Saturday, July 3. The high school sweethearts were married in a small Nebraska town where they ���ANNIVERSARY ���� 17 grew up. (Pablo Robles/Tribune Sta Photographer)
Mesa scholar giving greater voice to the disabled
BY ASHLYN ROBINETTE
Tribune Staff Writer
Arizona State University junior Nathaniel Ross �igured there was only one way to become a policy maker with a strong scienti�ic background.
So the Mesa native is majoring in four subjects – biological sciences, applied quantitative science, history and political science.
As if four majors weren’t enough, Ross also minors in dance and is pursuing two certi�icates, one in religion and con�lict, and another in civic education.
Ross recently was named a 2021 Udall Scholar by the Morris K. Udall and Steward L. Udall Foundation. He is one of 55 students from 42 colleges and universities selected for the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, which recognizes students for their leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to Native American nations or to the environment.
A Flinn Scholar in Barrett, The Honors College at ASU, he aspires to work one day on public policy affecting the disability community and environment.
“I noticed that a lot of policymakers don’t necessarily have a strong scienti�ic background, so I wanted to have a speci�ic concentration in biology and society so that I can convey scienti�ic information to non-scientists,” he said. “By synthesizing scienti�ic information so others can understand it, I can better impact policy. I also notice that scientists often have dif�iculty conveying information, so applied quantitative science along with
my husband was working and we �igured that since we were kind of contributing to our other households, we just might as well get married. And our parents were �ine with it.”
They picked July 3, 1948, for their wedding out of practicality: They both had jobs and since that date was a Saturday, they knew they would have an extra day off to go into town the next day and watch the �ireworks.
The Gustins deferred their honeymoon for several months so they could save some money for a trip to Colorado, which eventually became their home for 15 years before moving to Munds Park – where Enid worked for 20 years in the post of�ice until about four years ago.
Most of her career was spent in various capacities in the banking industry. While they lived in Colorado, Walt worked for the Denver Water Board doing maintenance on dams along the Colorado River and serving as a volunteer �ire�ighter. When they moved to Arizona, he worked as a truck driver, then a welder.
Between the two states, the Gustins raised four daughters and now have nine grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren “and one great great,” Enid said. How did they raise four girls when they both worked?
As for having time to themselves, Enid said, outside of traveling at times for noncompetitive square dancing, “We did everything as a family.”
She offered no deep secret for their longevity as a couple but did provide some simple guidance.
“It wasn’t all roses, but we were just able to keep going and agreeing on things – one or the other would give in.
SCHOLAR ���� ���� 16
political science would allow me to have that balance of understanding the present and future applications of everything.”
Ross won the Udall Scholarship for his interest in the intersection of climate and disability.
“A lot of my personal research is in disability relating to environmentalism,” Ross said.
“I really think environmental issues can permeate a lot of different parts of our community so I try to engage with as many parts as I can,” Ross said. From Aug. 3-6, Ross will attend the annual Udall Scholar Orientation in Tucson, meeting other scholars and alumni, collaborating on a case study and building a community with professionals working on environmental and tribal issues.
“What I value most are the connections I have with the entire Udall alumni network and other Udall scholars who are working in the environmental space,” Ross said.
Ross recognizes that environmental issues disproportionately impact people with disabilities so he wants to help elevate the voices of a community he is so deeply connected to.
“I have several different disabilities that impact my daily life,” he said. “I’ve spent about half of my time connected to various machines and I’ve had to �igure out ways to not let it interfere with my desires to work in rather competitive �ields of science and policy.
Last May, Ross and his family founded an organization called EOS Fighter Connection for which Ross mentors children with disabilities across the country.
He hosts weekly Zoom calls and virtual events with children with his same disability to discuss school, friends, family and their health conditions.
Ross says these calls essentially serve as support groups because many support groups were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Working with so many kids who are experiencing the same things I grew up with really helps motivate me to continue my work because I know that they are more likely to be disproportionally and negatively impacted by climate change and by the impact we have on our environment and natural disasters,” Ross said.
Ross said he has dealt with many people who didn’t think he was capable or quali�ied to work in such competitive �ields because of his disabilities.
This inspires him to work harder. He wants to help people see that disabilities are not something that interferes with his ability to work just as hard as anyone else.
At ASU, Ross is involved with two research labs, Dr. Susan Holechek’s population genetics lab and the Luminosity Lab, a prominent interdisciplinary research and development lab that partners with external organizations to develop and prototype innovative solutions to local and societal challenges.
Through the Luminosity Lab, Ross and his colleague competed in the “Go Green” pitch challenge at Schneider Electric, where they designed an online trade platform that would help connect industrial waste consumers with industrial waste producers.
The goal was to help end the pipeline of industrial waste into land�ill which would reduce the massive environmental damage industrial waste product disposal causes.
Over 2,500 teams applied globally and they were selected as a top 30 team in North America.
Ross also serves as vice president of network engagement with ASU’s Greenlight Solutions chapter where he identi�ies and connects with targeted businesses to develop more sustainable processes and solutions.
Outside ASU, Ross interned for Creosote Partners lobbying �irm, a social justice-oriented legislative advocacy �irm, at the state Legislature. There, he worked with clients promoting criminal justice reform, healthcare access and environmental justice.
He learned to lobby and testify for social change and met with lawmakers and advocates on how to make better systemic changes within our government and policies.
“The experience opened my mind and taught me that I can really impact and improve my community in so many different ways,” Ross said.
Ross additionally works in a community of practice at the Society for Public Health Education where they focus on environmental issues and how that affects public health.
He works there alongside ASU professor Kasondra McCracken, who invited him to join the organization, and they will be submitting an abstract to an upcoming advocacy summit.
Ross was recently awarded the Newman Civic Fellowship, a year-long program for students who demonstrate a commitment to �inding solutions for challenges facing communities locally, nationally and internationally.
Ross encourages others to take the time to discover what inspires them and how they want to change their community for the better.
“Find something you’re passionate about,” Ross advises students. “That goes beyond just what you’re majoring in. If you have a reason for doing something then you’re going to be far more likely to wake up in the morning and want to keep going at it and keep trying because so often in any �ield you’re going to face opposition and that motivation has to come from something outside of you.”
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | JUNE 27, 2021
Ziggy turns judges’ heads at prestigious gathering
BY PAUL MARYNIAK
Tribune Executive Editor
The latest award winner in the East Valley weighs about 60 pounds, has many distant ancestors that worked hard in extremely cold temperatures and wears a blazing white fur coat even in these days of blazing hot temperatures.
Meet Ziggy, a 4 ½-year-old Samoyed that came away from the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York State earlier this month with an Award of Merit – a prize the judges award at their discretion to only a few of the thousands of dogs that compete in the show and that haven’t won more coveted honors like Best of Breed or Best of Show. Not bad for his �irst time at perhaps the world’s most famous dog show, though he’s no stranger to competitions across the country.
Indeed, by earning points at other shows, Ziggy caught the attention of Westminster Dog Show organizers, who invited Ziggy and his master, Diana Thomas, to the star-studded – and stud-starred – event.
“Westminster is a bunch of heavy-hitters,” said Thomas, a semi-retired chief �inancial of�icer for a real estate company who moved from Ohio to Ahwatukee six years ago.
“You pretty much have to be invited,” she said, explaining an invitation only is extended to dogs that have accumulated enough points at other shows throughout the year.
Though Ziggy is her third Samoyed, he’s not like her previous two, which were rescues.
Thomas said he seemed bound for glory at birth. “The other two weren’t puppies and I’d always wanted a puppy,” Thomas explained. “He originally was going to be a therapy dog because his personality was perfect for a therapy dog. But he also happened to be the pick of the litter, so its breeder got me into showing him.”
Thomas has been showing Ziggy since he was seven or eight months old, taking him usually in an RV with her husband to various parts of the country.
And this year, Ziggy earned enough points to make him one of the top �ive Samoyeds in the United States.
Earning points was no small feat since many dog shows were canceled because of the pandemic last year.
So, Ziggy made up for that lost time by scoring enough points in shows the �irst three months of this year to qualify for a Westminster invite.
When she got the invitation, Thomas recalled, “I just got really excited. It was really, really cool.”
Her expectations were exceeded by the actual experience.
“The atmosphere is just electrifying,” Thomas explained. “There are so many people there and it’s like the top dogs from all over. I mean there were dogs from Canada and other parts of the world, from all over the United States.
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Ahwatukee residents Diana Thomas and Ziggy attended the 145th Westminster Dog Show in New York State earlier this month and found the experience unforgettable. (Special to the Tribune)
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That Samoyed’s name is Stryker, a Canadian canine that won the Westminster medal in the herding group – beating Ziggy – but failed to win Best of Show by getting bested by Wasabi the Pekingese.
“I guess you could call him Ziggy’s nemesis,” Thomas said of Stryker.
Vying for Best of Show, she added, is “where you can get really intense.”
In many ways, that kind of campaigning is identical to the campaigning that movie studios do at the beginning of every calendar year as they vie for an Academy Award nomination.
“Stryker was on the front cover and the back cover of every dog magazine,” Thomas explained.
Renown for a face that makes them look as if they are always smiling, Samoyeds trace their lineage to Siberia, where they were trained to work hard as herd dogs by reindeer farmers.
They’re considered stubborn in many descriptions on the internet, though Thomas doesn’t agree with that characterization.
“I wouldn’t say they’re stubborn,” she said. “They are very smart and you have to outsmart them. But the thing I’ve found out with the breed is they’re just so family-oriented.
“It’s like bred into them,” Thomas continued, noting that their ancestors lived in bone-shattering cold and helped herd kids in the snow as well as reindeer.
Being a champion, Ziggy doesn’t get table scraps and stays on a diet of kibble – for the most part.
He gets a bath once a week and his fur is so thick that the process takes three hours of blow-drying and brushing.
Ziggy will one day be used for stud, though for now he has a lot of shows ahead of him as his master learns how to be an owner-handler in a whole different level of competition.
