In The End
Posted: April 30, 2013 Filed under: Student Life | Tags: In the End, Resonate, School, Science, southern utah, southern utah universtiy, Student Life, suu, tbirdnation, Things I learned, Tiger Painting, UT, utah, utah college Leave a comment »Well it is a Tuesday morning. The weather is fantastic, air is crisp, and it is the end of the semester.
Yup it’s finals week.
But I don’t really want to talk about finals. Most of us have faced them before. Some soon will experience, others can reminisce of the days gone by. But finals, in reality, are a reflection of what you learned all year. So that’s what I am going to write about today.
Things I Learned:
I took a genetics class this year. This is a challenging course, I learned a lot, I beat my head against a table a lot, I cheered for joy when the times came. But I can talk to you about mutations, the genetic code and how to translate it. I know some things about population genetics, and I can do some new math.
I am color blind. I have had a grudge against colors most of my life because I suck with them. I have failed multiple times when it comes to matching and identifying colors. But this year I took a 2D design class and I am beginning to like colors now. I understand them. I feel my real 
issue was I was never taught anything about colors, and I have suffered all my life because of it. So the lesson learned, teach your kids. Never assume.
I have already talked about horses. You can find that post from a few weeks ago
Being engaged is awesome, but sucks really badly. Make sure yours is short.
Take a public speaking class. I learned about how to create a great presentation. I learned that a great presentation is not made up of lots of bullet points on a power point. In fact most power points I ever did growing up really sucked, and I should repent of my wicked ways. Read a book called Resonate, it will change the way you do presentations.
Closing Remarks:
Thanks everyone for reading my posts, and making comments. I have enjoyed this semester when it comes to writing for tbirdnation. I probably wont do it next year. I have a few new responsibilities, and a Bio-Organic Chemistry class that is going to consume me next semester. I hope you all enjoyed your school year. Come to SUU if you are contemplating it, and have a fantastic summer.
It’s times like these
Posted: April 25, 2013 Filed under: Cedar City, Student Life | Tags: cedar city, Choices, college, Feelings, Life, School, Student Life, suu, University Leave a comment »WOW! School is almost over and I can’t really wrap my head around that. My 1st year at SUU has been absolutely amazing and I am so happy I’m here and will be back next year as well. As I have sat here thinking about what this 1st year has done for me, I see so many things that have been a positive influence and have changed my life for good. The people I’ve meet, the professors I have been able to work closely with, my leadership organization, ect, and it’s times like these when I just stop and really see how amazing SUU is. Its been so amazing, that I kind of get all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it all! That, people, is exactly how it should be. When you think about your school, when you think about where you want to be for the next few years of your life, make sure the feelings there. I can say this from experience, college becomes your new home. If you want to like your new home, make sure that the chosen school (sound all epic saying this! 
), is actually the one.
I am proud to say that I am a life long t-bird with pride as big as the ocean blue, and I hope that you can be too.
So go and find that place where you need to be and stick with it. SUU is my groove because of all the amazing things that have made it that way, and I knew from the beginning that this was going to be my new home. I have never, EVER regretted that decision.
Just a picture and a really close friend I met at SUU and I at one of my FAVORITE SUU dances. 
Masquerade!
Posted: April 22, 2013 Filed under: Student Life | Tags: admissions, cedar city, Cirque du Sunfest, college, dance, friends, Fun, Fun Times, mask ball, masquerade, southern utah, southern utah university, sunfest, suu, suu admissions, SUUSA, tbirdnation, UT, utah, utah college, Utah High School Tour Leave a comment »Last week SUU had their annual SUNFest. The theme this year was “Cirque du SUNFest,” a play on “cirque du Soleil,” which means “circus of the sun.”
Events during the week included a comedian; the Mr. SUU pageant; bingo with great prizes; a showing of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; a carnival with fun bouncy inflatables, free food, carnival games, prizes, and live music; the Thunderbird Awards Ceremony; and a masquerade ball.
I love dancing. Any time I have an excuse to go dancing is a good time. Sometimes I’ll go to rather sketchy places if I know there’s going to be dancing. When I found out about the masquerade, you can imagine how excited I was to go.
I went with my dancing friend Ali (whenever there’s a dance beat, chances are you’ll see us together) and our outfits matched. Unintentionally.
Black and leopard. I’m not wearing any leopard, but I’m wearing gold which matched her accents.
At the dance (which was free!) I ate lots of cookies and fruits and vegetables, danced, sweated, and got some photos done in a photo booth.
You can see our love we have for dance depicted in this photo with vogue-ing and jazz hands. The other two are just… great.
I love the great activities and events SUUSA does.
Au revoir!
Mr. SUU
Posted: April 17, 2013 Filed under: Cedar City, Student Life | Tags: 1st man attendant, 2nd man attendant, acoustic, Band, colors of the wind, evening-wear, Fun, Guitar, king, little big heart, Male, Mr. SUU, Pageants, pochahontas, rhythmic gymnastics, Scooters, suu, talent Leave a comment »Every year, SUUSA puts on a pageant for Mr. SUU as part of Sunfest! Sunfest is a week long of activities right before dead week, which is a week where campus-wide activities are prohibited. I believe Sunfest is held so that students can have some last minute fun before cramming for those finals!
Any male student can apply for Mr. SUU and it’s always a blast to enjoy. This year there were seven beautiful contestants. Today’s pageant consisted of two sections: a talent section and an evening-wear section with a random questionairre. Some of the great talents we saw tonight were rhythmic gymnastics, acoustic guitar performances, a piano performance, and stand-up comedy. I have to say that my favorite performance was when one of the contestants did rhythmic gymnastics to “Colors of the Wind” from Pochahontas.
In the evening-wear section, the question that stood out to me was “If you could have only one of the qualities listed, which would it be? Beautiful, intelligence, or rich?” The contestant chose beauty because he believed that almost anything could be attained with beauty. By the way, there was some spiffy outfits tonight! Looking good, guys!
Judges left briefly as the audience was entertained by Little Big Heart, a local band comprised of many great SUU students.
The constentants waited nervously for the results.
The titles awarded were 2nd Man Attendant, 1st Man Attendant, and Mr. SUU. Those who won one of the titles were given a brand new scooter! I’m way jealous!
In the end, Joey Cardenas took the win as Mr. SUU! All hail the new king!
SUU is full of Excellence
Posted: April 12, 2013 Filed under: Cedar City, Experiential Education, Student Life | Tags: Campus Activities, cedar city, Excellence, Festival, Psychology, Research, Student Life, suu Leave a comment »This past week, SUU was able to put on the very 1st Festival of Excellence! This was a campus wide conference where students and professors alike where able to present their ideas or things that they had done in school with the rest of the student body. Classes where suspended and every student was encouraged to go and see what was offered. We had many seniors present their Cap Stone projects for SUU’s Edge projects and we had professors present on topics that they had written on.
The morning stated off early with a performance by our Cheerleaders and an introduction to the things that were provided for the rest of the day. Along with other single presenters, such as the students and professors, a Poster Session was held where many people or groups of students where able to present their findings on research projects they did, whether for Psychology or other things. I was privileged enough to have the opportunity to present with 2 other students on a Psychology research project that we conducted for more than a month. It was nice to be able to talk to students about what I had learned and share my findings.
The idea behind the Festival was to get students more engaged in the academics, as well as open other student’s eyes to things that they may not have know before and give them ideas to do more with their education. Which is actually what SUU is all about. We want students to take control of their education and do what they want with it and experience many different things.
Chelsea Kimptom, a junior History/Anthropology major, said that she really enjoyed having the Festival on campus and she was happy that we were able to have it and hopes that it will become an annual thing.
So when you think about where to attend, keep in mind that you’ll only find the best form of excellence at Southern Utah University
Power Outages
Posted: April 10, 2013 Filed under: Cedar City, Student Life | Tags: Dark, dorm, electricity, epiphany, flashlight, flashlight apps, phones, Power outage, Shower, society 1 Comment »Oh that awkward moment in my life when I really should get out of my bed and go out to greet society, but I haven’t showered in two days. Lo and behold as I crawl out of bed I learn from my roommates’ wild shenanigans that the power is out in the dorms. I think nothing of it until I walk into the bathroom, ready to shower. It is then that I realize that I would have to shower in the darkness. I had to think to myself – should I shower in the dark or go on another day without it? Possibly stumble around in the darkness and slip or harm society with poor hygiene? I was caught between a rock and a hard place.
But don’t fear! That is why we have flashlights on our phones! (And real flashlights around the dorm)
I was able to become squeaky clean with 29% brightness or so in the bathroom! I had a moment of epiphany as I would close my eyes. “Hey. It’s dark when I shut my eyes.” When we shower, water gets in our face and we tend to close our eyes, so it’s already dark in that aspect. We’re all experienced at showering in the dark.
Don’t worry. I felt safe after having this epiphany.
Living on your own teaches you to improvise sometimes!
P.S. Why isn’t there a picture? Because it’s totally pitch black, silly goose.
Dancing with the Stars!
Posted: April 3, 2013 Filed under: Cedar City, Student Life Leave a comment »The SUU Ballroom Company puts on their very own Dancing with the Stars competition every year. This year, a few of my friends, Jeffrey Hertig, Eva Chau, and Lance Lowry participated in the event along with many others. What’s cool about this event is that the Ballroom Company invites people from different areas of the school and community to participate. My friend Eva is a graphic design major who doesn’t dance at all. Jeff and Lance were both in SUUSA, but Jeff is an accounting major. There was a high school teacher from Canyon View High School, one of Power 91′s DJs, a faculty and staff member from SUU and many more. Eight different people pair up with a Ballroom Dance Company member and dance in a different genre. The genres Rumba, Tango, Hustle, Quickstep, Salsa, Cha Cha, Viennese Waltz, and Swing. My favorite part is watching the performances of course, but also cheering for fan favorites. I definitely screamed my lungs out for Jeff and Eva! Be sure to come watch this fun competition when you get a chance!
Jeff and Chandler’s priceless facial expressions!
Friends and supporters of Jeffs with our homemade signs. By the way, congratulations to him and his partner for winning the competition!
A few participants and friends gathered around Eva Chau!
Called to Serve
Posted: April 2, 2013 Filed under: Student Life | Tags: tbirdnation, suu, southern utah university, admissions, utah, utah college, cedar city, southern utah, UT, Utah High School Tour, Service Project, World War II, LDS activityies, Monday night activities Leave a comment »
The feet marched to the sound of the call. What call you might ask? The call to action! The call to serve! And the thunder came and the T-Birds arrived to do their civil duty to those who fought in a war that eventually made up “the greatest generation.”
Hopefully you liked my flowery introduction to a service project I had the opportunity to be apart of. I currently belong to the Cedar City Young Single Adult 10th Congregation for the LDS church. My job is to plan Monday night activities. When the congregational leader (bishop) asked if we could do this activity for a Monday activity, I was happy to let them take over the evening.
So at 5 o’clock we gathered together our congregation and one other, which all are SUU students, and headed out to the service project. The project was to help out a World War II veteran named Ravena. She use to fly planes from the factories out to California to be shipped across sea’s and to the front line. That was cool to find out.
When we arrived we found out the project; which was to help bring her yard back to life. At the age of 90 it becomes very difficult to maintain your yard, so we were called in to save the day. With chainsaws, shovels, rakes, and willing hands we went to work.
Everyone working
getting rid of those unwanted branches
T-Birds Represent!
Before
After
It was a great service project, and everyone had a fantastic time. There is always someone out there that we can help, and we T-Birds are always excited to help. Hope everyone had a happy Easter and enjoy the rest of your week.
Viva! Las Vegas
Posted: April 1, 2013 Filed under: Student Life | Tags: admissions, Bellagio, cedar city, Circus Circus, college, Dick's Last Resort, Dick's Restaurant, Excalibur, friends, Fun, Fun Times, Las Vegas, southern utah, southern utah university, suu, suu admissions, tbirdnation, UT, utah, utah college, Utah High School Tour Leave a comment »Of all the places on earth, I have a deep connection to Cedar City.
It’s my home and I love it here.
However, it is nice to get away for a bit, especially when it’s your friend’s birthday!
Las Vegas, Nevada is only 175 miles away, or 2.5 hours driving time, according to GoogleMaps.
Ten of us friends went to Las Vegas to spend time together and celebrate Nick’s 21st birthday!
We stayed in Circus Circus. Friday night we were going to party like 1999 and decided to walk from Circus Circus along the Strip to Excalibur for dinner. I wanted to drive because I was pretty sure the distance was a lot further than anticipated, but, in the end, I was glad we walked because we became closer friends and had some pretty awesome things happen.
Awesome thing #1: While enjoying the wonderful 80° F weather on our walk, a gentleman had the top down in his convertible and was blasting music. And it was good music. So I said, “Thanks for the tunes!” and he pointed to me and sang to us as we walked by. That made my day
Awesome thing #2: This black gentleman came up to us while we were taking photos and said we needed some color in the picture. It was great!
And then he took one of the whole group!
I love nice people
Back row LtoR: Martin, Abby, Nick, Jenni, Braden, Scott. Front row LtoR: Chris, me, Cadence, Adam!
Nick, the birthday boy, and Martin
Jenni snapped this gem of me watching the Bellagio water show. Apparently, I was quite amused.
We were walking to Excalibur to eat at Dick’s. It’s a restaurant where the servers are intentionally mean and swear at you and throw things at you and it’s quite the experience. They also make really inappropriate hats for you to wear. I, however, have a filter when it comes to posting things on the Internet so I will only be posting a photo of my hat, which was the only appropriate one made….
This is the only hat that I want photos of on the Internet. It says “Maybe if I cut my hair people would stop mistaking me for a 12 year old girl.” This is my “12 year old girl” pose.
After dinner and drinking lots of water (I don’t drink alcohol. Notice how the pitcher I’m drinking right out of is water? I was super thirsty), six of us went to a dance club and danced the night away! It was the most fun!
After a long night of walking, eating, laughing, dancing, and have the best time ever, Nick was tired so Martin carried him to our hotel room on his shoulders.
Lovely photo by Jenni of the moon over New York New York and the front of the Monte Carlo
Of all these people on the trip, there was only one that I didn’t know because of SUU. Every day it is hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I have the best friends in the world.
Thank you, SUU, for giving me friendships that I will value forever.
FHE Talent Show
Posted: March 29, 2013 Filed under: Student Life | Tags: tbirdnation, college, cedar city, southern utah, UT, Fun, friends, Fun Times, Student Life, FHE Leave a comment »Gather a bunch of church people, ask them to share their talents, and I guarantee everyone will have a good time. This is just one more thing you could experience as a member of Tbirdnation. The pictures will tell you the rest of the story. Good times, eh?
Eric
jillowhitaker
Kirk
Laurel
Jess
Nathan
Thor
Becky
