The Utah Statesman - August 28, 2023

Utah State University, Logan, Utah

USU set to compete in 20th annual Blood Battle against Weber State

By Jenny Carpenter NEWS REPORTER

Utah State University’s Aggies have donated enough blood to win the blood drive battle against Weber State University every year for the past 19 years — and USU isn’t planning on losing this year either, according to Bridger Esplin, the Aggie Red Cross student director.

The event will take place from Sept. 5-8, and students and faculty can donate blood between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Not only is there a competitive aspect between USU and Weber, but all registered USU clubs, including sororities and fraternities, may receive prizes.

But it’s not just the fact that USU has claimed victory for several decades — both universities’ donations have saved tens of thousands of lives. In the last 19 years, the blood battles have produced over 19,000 unites of donated blood, with each unit saving multiple lives, according to Kirsten Stuart, the communications and public affairs associate with the American Red Cross.

“I think service should be a huge part of any student’s experience at college, and this is just a really great opportunity for students to get involved,” said Tyson Packer, the student advocate vice president for the Utah State University Student Association. While the competitive aspect is certainly enjoyable for many students, Stuart said “the blood donations are important regardless of the situation,” especially with sharp declines in summer donors.

“In the summer, the blood supply does go down because people are out more, they’re out doing more things and quite frankly, some people are getting hurt more and needing blood — but the donations are down,” Stuart said. “This specific blood battle is an amazing way to help in replenishing that supply.”

Utah’s blood donations don’t just help Utahns. USU’s blood battles are crucial in helping surgery patients and those recovering from disasters from all over the country.

“Utah powers a lot of the country,” Esplin said. Blood donations could especially help victims of natural disasters, from wildfires in Maui, Hawaii to Hurricane Hilary’s impact on the West Coast, according to Nelda Ault-Dyslin, the assistant director of community-engaged learning at the USU Center for Community Engagement.

Participants can observe where their donations may travel to on the Red Cross website or app and can even receive a letter of thanks stating which hospital their blood went to, as well as how it helped save a life, Stuart said.

For students who are squeamish with needles, they can volunteer with the Red Cross professionals or at the Blood Battle itself, Esplin said. Still, donating blood is still one of the most effective ways to make a

difference.

Despite Esplin’s original fears when he first donated, he felt confident afterward.

“It actually wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought,” he said.

Packer said students who may not understand the purpose of donating blood should ask the Red Cross volunteers about what their blood will do for other people.

“They’ll tell you personal stories about people who have gotten blood transfusions, about EMTs who have had to get blood transfusions or have saved lives at car accidents that they’ve been called to,” Packer said.

“I just tell students to get in there, ask around, hear about those personal experiences and it’ll really open their eyes to why it’s so important.”

For Stuart, donating blood is about just that. When her mother had a gastrointestinal bleed and needed a blood transfusion, she said she found herself getting emotional after seeing the American Red Cross blood donation bags.

“Quite frankly, all of us at some point are going to be touched by someone who needed a blood donation,” Stuart said. “I want them (students) to really realize the huge difference that they are making in so many people’s lives with their blood donation. Whether they’re saving the lives of an infant, a child, you know, someone’s mother, grandmother — that literal act of 30 minutes to an hour of their time can mean years to somebody else that they get with a family member.”

Jenny Carpenter is majoring in print journalism and minoring in English. When she’s not reading or writing news, she’s practicing Chinese and spending time with her spouse.

— jenny.carpenter@usu.edu

Statesman file photo

A woman donates blood at the annual Blood Battle between Utah State University and Weber State University.

New Aggie Ice Cream location elevates the 100-year tradition

By Ella Stott LIFESTYLES REPORTER

The original Aggie Ice Cream location in the Nutrition and Food Science Building is soon going to be joined by a second location at Utah State University.

“We’re excited to announce our new location will be on the main floor of the Blue Square Apartments across from the stadium,” said Annalisa Broadhead, a research food scientist for Aggie Ice Cream and the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences. “It’s much closer to the students and the games.”

The new location will be next to the Aggie Chocolate Factory, which is part of the same department.

“They do a lot of wonderful work, and we’re excited to work with them on serving the students,” Broadhead said.

Because the new location is in an area greatly occupied by students, Broadhead was excited to announce a different emphasis for the store.

“We want to focus this new location on giving the students a place that’s easy to go to and has a little bit more seating so that they can spend time together,” Broadhead said.

With this in mind, Broadhead said they’ve been working hard to create a student-centered space.

“This new location has a lot of outdoor seating as well as a main lobby area in between Aggie Ice Cream and the Chocolate Factory that gives students a place to sit down and hang out with their friends,” Broadhead said.

The reason for opening a second location goes beyond the USU events.

“We’re excited to be able to open up the second location,” Broadhead said. “It kind of relieves some stress on our employees but also just gives people a better experience so they don’t have to be standing in line for so long to get their ice cream.”

Broadhead spoke on how meaningful the original location is to USU students, faculty and alumni.

“Our original store is a legacy and tradition for a lot of students,” Broadhead said. “Many alumni from Utah State will stop and get ice cream whenever they’re in town.”

Bridgett Liberty, The Aggie Ice Cream sales manager, echoed feelings of excitement.

“The new location will help us to be more involved with USU event patrons by giving

a more central location for them to visit,” Liberty wrote in an email to the Statesman.

“It will also help serve students and senior citizens closer to their homes.”

Although the new location serves for convenience, another purpose is to elevate the 100 year tradition.

“Aggie Ice Cream is something that people

love — it’s a part of their story,” Broadhead said. “Giving us this new location helps to celebrate the tradition.”

For Broadhead, the new location isn’t taking away from the original’s legacy, but adding to it.

A second location will increase the opportunities students have to enjoy their school’s deep-rooted custom.

“We want to be able to continue to create memories with the students and be able to give their alumni and their families that experience of coming back,” Broadhead said.

“I love working with so many different people and being able to make their events special by supplying Aggie Ice Cream,” Liberty said.

Similarly, Broadhead enjoys working with students studying within the dairy industry to create something for the USU community.

“It’s so fun to be a part of something so delicious, but also something that is so important and such a great tradition for so many families,” Broadhead said.

After teaching herself how to type at 5 years old, Ella decided that she wanted to be a writer. Now, she uses her writing to advocate for those who need a voice, specifically victims of child abuse. When she’s not writing, Ella is watching every 30 minute sitcom available and adoring her dogs.

—tonksisadog77@gmail.com

Employee Grace Williams serving Aggie Ice Cream in Logan on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

PHOTOS BY Katie Merdes

Getting yummy ice cream from Aggie Ice Cream in Logan on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

The history of USU’s Luminary

By Ella Stott LIFESTYLES REPORTER

In August 2016, the first annual Luminary at Utah State University began. Since then, students in the Connections course have had the opportunity to participate on the Friday before the semester starts.

“Many schools have a meaningful ritual for their incoming students to mark the commencement of their time at the university,” said Lisa Simmons, the senior director of new student enrollment.

The Connections committee felt that USU should have one such ritual as well, according to Simmons.

“We wanted something with gravitas, pomp, and ceremony,” Simmons said. “We talked a lot about creating a ‘Harry Potter’ moment.”

The process of developing the Luminary wasn’t a quick one.

“The Connections committee had been discussing options for a ritual for many years,” Simmons said. “We wanted to generate excitement around starting the college experience together and ending the college experience together.”

Eventually, the team was able to work together to develop a tradition that they felt emphasized the feeling of

community at USU.

“It would clearly mark that our students were embarking on something unique and exciting at USU,” Simmons said.

The first step was getting all of the faculty prepared.

“We invited the faculty to wear their academic regalia,” Simmons said. “We also invited the faculty senate president to carry the university mace and lead the procession with the president.”

Then, to bring the spirit alive, the artistic details were finalized. The Scotsman Pipe Band was invited to play for the procession, and the final lanterns and lights — after dozens of variations — were decided on by the Student Orientation & Transition Services office.

“Prior to the first Luminary, we were a little nervous about whether this would translate into the impactful event that we had envisioned,” Simmons said. However, a tradition was born after the first Luminary quickly proved to be a student favorite.

“About halfway through the event, we realized it was going to be a success,” Simmons said.

The ceremony begins with students gathering in the Spectrum. They listen to a speech by Harrison Kleiner, the

associate vice provost, and then they file onto the Quad to take a photo in the shape of the Block A.

Following this, the Eastern and Blanding campuses join via video to listen to the president deliver remarks before the A on top of Old Main turns blue.

Kleiner, the opening speaker, has been part of the Connections team for more than 10 years.

“I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of the Luminary tradition as a speaker,” Kleiner wrote in an email to the Statesman. “We know this program is making a difference for students.”

The Luminary has become something that students look forward to, and not just because it’s an exciting close to the Connections experience.

“The pomp and circumstance of the event helps them start their college experience with their graduation goal in mind,” Kleiner wrote. “It also affirms the dignity and importance of the higher education experience they are about to commence.”

Although the event has remained largely the same since the first Luminary in 2016, Simmons pointed out a couple of notable changes.

“In 2017, faculty, staff, and community members were invited to hold blue lanterns and cheer the students as they process to the quad,” she said.

Also, 2021 marked the first year the Eastern and Blanding campuses joined in.

“This tradition has grown and is now a nice way for people to kick off the school year and welcome the incoming class,” Simmons said.

Kleiner believes the tradition and the “incredible energy” of students elevate each other.

“Students have embraced the Luminary,” Kleiner wrote. “It is helping them be more successful at USU and beyond.”

After teaching herself how to type at 5 years old, Ella decided that she wanted to be a writer. Now, she uses her writing to advocate for those who need a voice, specifically victims of child abuse. When she’s not writing, Ella is watching every 30 minute sitcom available and adoring her dogs.

— tonksisadog77@gmail.com

View of Old Main during a Luminary

STATESMAN FILE PHOTO

Intermountain Health now managing the USU Student Health and Wellness Center

health care brings a few benefits to the center and to the students of USU. Intermountain Health will be able to connect students with healthcare services outside of the university that the center itself isn’t able to provide.

“By bringing a medical provider in — an organization that focuses on health care — we understand and know that they have a lot of resources that they can make available to our students that as an institution, we just couldn’t,” Wagner said. “For example, Intermountain Health is going to make after-hours telehealth available to our students.”

When the change in management came about, Wagner said they made sure all of the staff at the center were offered a job under the new management. He said they didn’t want anyone to lose their jobs because of the change.

“Some of the other things that we put into the request for proposals to make sure is, number one, we didn’t want this to cost more for students,” Wagner said. “And number two, we didn’t want them to have to go someplace else. We take great pride in the fact that we have a student health and wellness center on our campus that’s close by for our students.”

Students can make appointments online, and the center also accepts walk-ins if necessary.

Wagner said they will be monitoring the operations of the center and the care it provides to make sure it is accomplishing everything they want it to.

By Caitlin Keith NEWS EDITOR

After months of research, discussion and planning, Intermountain Health took over managing Utah State University’s Student Health and Wellness Center on July 1. The university made the official announcement on May 1.

Any registered USU student will continue to have access to the health center, just as they did in the past, as its cost remains a part of tuition.

In a Zoom interview, USU executive vice president Robert Wagner said in September 2022, then university president Noelle Cockett asked him to do a deep review into the state of the Student Health and Wellness Center.

“We thought it would be a good time to just really take a deep dive into the center,” Wagner said. “And really start asking ourselves just some fundamental questions like, ‘Is the center still serving students well? Is it accomplishing the goals and objectives that USU has?’”

The review focused on scope of care, quality of care and financial viability.

Wagner said there was no end goal when starting the review and there was no plan already in place to replace management.

As the review continued, the committee put in place to review the center decided to explore alternative options for running it.

“As we began looking at considering this idea of contracting out, we thought, ‘Well, let’s do this officially. We’re a public institution; there’s a correct way of doing this,’” Wagner said. “We decided to work closely with our purchasing department, and we developed a request for proposals that laid out if we were to contract out, this is what we would want it to look like; again, focusing on scope of care, quality of care and financial viability.”

The request for proposals was issued during the break between fall semester 2022 and spring semester 2023. During the beginning of spring semester, the proposals submitted by third-party entities were examined, and university officials met with representatives from the companies.

“As we dug in deeper and closer, we began to realize that the idea of contracting out to this third party would make real good sense for our students,” Wagner said. “It would bring options and a type of quality of care and scope of care that our students just haven’t had.”

According to Wagner, the decision for Intermountain Health to take over running the center came at the beginning of April.

“This is something we’re going to watch very carefully as we go in, especially this first year, to make sure that students’ needs are being met. Again, we take it very, very seriously — I take it seriously that student tuition is paying for this,” Wagner said. “Students are number one here, and we need to make sure that their needs are being met.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO

The entrance to the Student Health and Wellness Center on USU’s Logan campus.

Caitlin Keith is a senior studying print journalism. When not reporting, she loves reading, speaking German and listening to music.

Diana Sabau — new athletic director, new perspective

By Madison Weber SPORTS EDITOR

On August 7, Utah State University announced Diana Sabau as the new vice president & athletic director. She assumed her position on August 21.

“I am so over the moon, excited and energized. I’ve wanted to be an athletics director for a great part of my career, and this came together so perfectly for me,” Sabau said.

Sabau succeeds interim athletic director Jerry Bovee, who stepped in after the resignation of John Hartwell in November.

She comes to USU with an extensive resume, including 30 years of experience in college athletics. Before coming to USU, she served as deputy commissioner and chief sports officer for the Big Ten Conference, overseeing the administration of all 28 sponsored sports.

Prior to her work with the Big Ten, Sabau worked as a senior deputy athletics director at Ohio State University. There, she served as sport administrator for football, women’s ice hockey and the coed rifle and pistol programs. During her time, the Ohio State football team won four consecutive Big Ten championships and participated in the College Football Playoff.

Sabau said it has been nice to be recruited to such high esteem, and she appreciates the foundation of success that the university has demonstrated both academically and in athletics.

“I hope that together with my leadership and President Cantwell, we can truly elevate those athletic achievements and really become a force and all of our sports in the Mountain West,” she said. “I'm so excited. I just can't wait.”

The hiring process was overseen by the search firm Collegiate Sports Associates Executive Search & Consulting.

“There was enormous interest in this position, and we were all very impressed by the depth of the candidate pool,” said Brian Steed, a member of the president’s executive team who chaired the search committee. “That really speaks volumes about the strength of USU Athletics.”

Former colleagues of Sabau and members of the Mountain West Conference celebrated the announcement, and congratulations spread across social media.

“Congratulations to President Cantwell and Utah State on recruiting Diana Sabau as their vice president and director of athletics,” said Gloria Nevarez, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, in a statement. “She is an outstanding communicator, innovator, team player and above all else the consummate servant leader. A terrific hire for USU and the Mountain West.”

Sabau expressed her excitement to be a part of USU Athletics, but she isn’t entering the position expecting to make any changes in the beginning. She believes good leaders should learn from those who have worked there before deciding what’s best for the department.

“Before I change anything, I need to listen and learn. There will be a time, hopefully within the first 30, 60, or 90 days, that I've listened and learned from our staff, from my colleagues on campus, from students, from student-athletes and from people in the community, so that

I can determine what Utah State Athletics needs to keep doing,” she said.

The athletic director reports to the president and is a member of the president’s senior leadership team. This person oversees all aspects of USU’s athletics department. Sabau will make decisions regarding personnel, academic and athletic success, budgets, facilities, operations, fundraising, compliance and student-athlete welfare. She will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all regulations governing USU and its employees, as well as those of the NCAA and Mountain West Conference.

She plans to create an evaluation of the skill set in the department and a strategic plan with timelines and deliverables to map out the future success of Utah State Athletics. Her vision is focused on improving environment, performance, revenue and resources.

Instead, she sees herself bringing a new perspective and talents she has developed throughout her career.

“I don't look at being a female in this business as if I’m that different. I just bring a different value set, a different perspective. We all have commonalities and skill sets,” she said.

Sabau has made a favorable name for herself in college athletics. She has a master’s in sports administration from Ohio University and a bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of sports, she is a mother, wife, friend and neighbor. She has been married for 26 years and has two kids.

“Family is very important to me. But really, people are important to me. Throughout my life, I’ve been so fortunate to have people go the extra mile to do something kind to me. I’m looking forward to having relationships with colleagues on campus where you know, maybe I’d bring them a coffee in the morning or something just to show my appreciation,” she said. “That's something that I like to do. I want to bring joy, and I want to have an impact. Those are two of my favorite words.”

Finding a work-life balance is challenging for many, but Sabau believes it’s necessary. She tries to be as balanced as she can in her free time by reading, exercising, being outdoors and gardening.

“I would call myself serious when I need to be serious, and I'm intense when we're reaching for a goal. I'm fair, but I like to have fun,” Sabau said. “We're in college athletics. We should be having fun.”

When asked what she is looking forward to doing while being in Cache Valley, Sabau reflected on a childhood memory.

“I cannot wait to go for my first horseback ride. When I was young, I used to go to a Girl Scout camp and do horseback riding for like two weeks at a time,” she said. “I'm just looking forward to that experience.”

Most of all, Sabau is looking forward to the Aggie spirit and being a part of the Cache Valley community.

“At the end of the day, if we're not a high-performing team, then we're letting not only our students and our community down, but we're letting the state of Utah down, and then we're letting the Mountain West down. We're not going to be able to capitalize on revenue and resources,” Sabau said. “I like to win, and I'm not going to apologize for that. We're going to invest in winning, and we're going to do that together.”

Working in a male-dominated industry, Sabau believes being a woman is a tremendous asset, as they bring a different perspective to the table.

“I always wanted to be in a diverse environment, but college athletics is not always diverse, especially in leadership. That provides opportunities for women to definitely step up and help other women be successful.

I've always been really fortunate to have leaders provide opportunities for me, and so I need to continue to provide opportunities for others, especially women,” she said.

Still, stepping into her new role, Sabau doesn’t see herself as different from others because of her gender.

“I'm looking forward to making some friends, meeting people in the community and having an impact in the community,” Sabau said. “I really like to be involved. I always say, ‘Give a busy person a project because we'll get it done.’ And that's me. I have a lot going on at once, but that's just who I am. I like to run fast.”

She trusts the Aggies will welcome her into the community as USU Athletics continues to grow and succeed.

“I want to earn their respect,” Sabau. “I've worked hard, and I know what I'm talking about. I know that I know. I know the discipline, I know sports, I know the finances and I'm prepared. As long as I'm prepared, I know I'll be successful.”

Madison Weber is a senior studying journalism and international studies. She believes nothing is better than watching your sports team win and eating good food.

Diana Sabau

McKenzie Hunninghake gains experience abroad

By Henry Wright SPORTS REPORTER

Each athlete takes different approaches to their offseason. For some, it's necessary to take some time off to recover from the strenuous season while still doing basic drills and practices. But for sophomore goalkeeper McKenzie Hunninghake and others on Utah State’s women’s soccer team, this offseason was used to increase their level of competition. Hunninghake spent her summer playing in France with a scout team before playing in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) with Austin Rise FC.

“When I went over to France, my goal was to just kind of perform well and show who I am. I was one of the older kids in the group, so I wanted to show my leadership on the team and in front of these coaches as well,” Hunninghake said. One benefit of playing with Austin Rise FC, according to Hunninghake, was getting an increased amount of game repetitions in a competitive environment.

“Whenever we go over to these teams, everyone you're playing with is good. So just kind of being in those situations where you're practicing with someone that's just as good as you or better than you, or you're playing against someone that's just as good or better than you,” Hunninghake said. “It really pushes us to strive to be that better player on the team.”

During the summer, athletes can play competitively in the WPSL and other programs. Creating an environment where players take advantage of these opportunities has been emphasized since Manny Martins was named head coach in 2021.

“We encourage all players to find opportunities to challenge themselves in the summer,” Martins said. “We try to help them in terms of understanding what good environments look like so that over the summer they enjoy themselves. Most importantly, they're continuing to sharpen and evolve in their position and their skill sets.”

As the USU women’s soccer team takes

the field this fall, Martins said he is pleased with the team's improvement from last season.

“I'm really excited about the group. They're getting older with us, but they're also going out and playing throughout the summer. They're looking more mature and sharp,” Martins said.

The experience of playing against high-level competition outside of the traditional regular season schedule is invaluable, according to Martins.

“There's an old saying that says, ‘Repe-

well of that on the field, but I want to do it off the field as well.”

So far, the change in Hunninghake’s demeanor after playing in France and in Texas this summer has been evident to her coaches.

“One thing I've seen is an evolution in her conviction in terms of where she wants to go with her game. She obviously went out this summer and got to travel to Europe and be in a training environment with one of the top teams in the world in the women's side of the game,” Martins said. “When she got back, she met with me and just kind of wanted to share her desire to play beyond college and her commitment to give everything she's got into the team, and she's been training that way.”

Hunninghake is part of a goalkeeper unit that includes graduate student Diera Walton and freshman Shay Kercher-Pratt. Despite competing for playing time, she praised the camaraderie that exists in her position group.

“We just have a really good atmosphere of positivity,” Hunninghake said. “No matter who's on the field, we're always cheering each other on.”

Martins said he feels like the team has three “starter-level keepers.”

This Week in Aggie Athletics

Volleyball

Wednesday: vs. University of Utah

6 p.m., Wayne Estes Center

Thursday: vs. Weber State

7 p.m., Wayne Estes Center

Saturday: vs., Loyola Marymount University

2 p.m., Wayne Estes Center

Soccer

Friday: vs. Univeristy of South Dakota

5 p.m., Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field

Sunday: University of South Dakota

1 p.m., Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field

Cross-Country

Saturday: Sagebrush Invitational

All Day, Steve and Dona Reeder Cross Country Course

Football

tition is the mother of all learning.’ So the more they get to train and play, they're seeing game scenarios more often,” Martins said. “If they played eight to 10 games this summer and eight to 10 games last summer, it's equivalent to having played an additional season of soccer. To me, that growth helps us because we end up with a more mature player, a technically more refined player, and a player that also has some different layers to bring back to us.”

As for Hunninghake, she hopes to improve both on and off the field after starting eight games as a freshman and recording 15 saves on 17 shots on goal.

“I feel like a personal goal I have is just trying to step into more of a leadership role on the team,” Hunninghake said. “Being in that goalkeeper position, you have to step up as a leader. I feel like I do really

“It's exciting because at this point, we have three goalkeepers: we have a freshman who's very, very good, and then we have two returning players,” Martins said. “Obviously, Diera has an incredible amount of experience, but now McKenzie's got a lot of experience as well, and they're both training well, so we're in a great place."

For more information about USU women’s soccer and their schedule for the 2023 season, visit utahstateaggies.com/sports/ womens-soccer.

Henry Wright is a junior studying political science, American studies and anticipatory intelligence. He loves to travel, watch sports, and spend time outdoors.

-henry.wright@usu.edu @henrywright25

Saturday: @ University of Iowa

10 a.m., Iowa City, IA

Check out game recaps on usustatesman.com or follow along on X @StatesmanSports

Submitted Photo

Mckenzie Hunninghake trained in France with the Olympique Lyonnais U19 team.

P O R T S S P O T L I G H T

Heidi Bingham is a senior studying jouranlism with an emphasis in social media and two minors in marketing and ASL. Aside from photography, she loves her dog Milo and reading (romance books specfially) in her spare time.

— heidi.bingham@usu.eduu

The Utah State women’s soccer team competed against University of Utah on August 24 at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field. Utah defeated USU 1-0.

Cantwell: a new chapter

Dear Students, Welcome to a new start at Utah State University! I believe it will be a great new academic year for all of you. We have an amazing new athletics director, and I begin my own new chapter as your new president. Like many of you, I have only been here a few weeks, and you will definitely see me wandering around trying to figure out where I am going. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you can help me and introduce yourself! Likewise, I am keenly interested in how I can help you. You can reach out with suggestions or comments through my website.

Even if you’ve been here for a while now, I hope you’re entering this year with the same sense of excitement and discovery as newcomers like me. You probably already have favorite activities, interests, and groups of friends … and I encourage you take this opportunity to expand beyond those. Meet different people. Explore unfamiliar topics. Have new experiences. I am finding that Logan is a great place to create adventures!

At USU, our community and our collective pride thrive on inclusion — we are a place where it is important that everyone finds their way to belong. Already, as I start my own journey here, I feel this spirit, and I am eager to share it with you, extending to you an invitation to share it with others. I encourage you to look at our Aggies Think, Care, Act website for thoughts on how to share a sense of belonging with others. We aren’t merely a university; we are the Aggie Family — a gathering of students, faculty, staff, and community that nurtures, empathizes, and champions an environment of respect.

As your year ramps up, amid all your outward attention on your academic work, your activities, USU athletics and the world around you, I encourage you to acknowledge the complexity of learning to be a thriving human, and I strongly underscore the importance of self-care. Discover the array of resources, support programs, and recre-

ational pursuits that we offer at USU. Take a moment to acquaint yourself with the Aggie Wellness website, and learn about the dimensions of wellness, along with the avenues through which USU and our community can assist you.

In the coming year, expect new experiences and new learning. I, myself, am incredibly excited and not a little bit uncertain. Let’s build an amazing adventure together — here’s to an exceptional journey ahead.

Go Aggies!

Elizabeth Cantwell President