Personal Connections &
Academic Excellence

CONNECTING WITH Indigenous communities

Weber State forged strong connections with local Indigenous American communities last fall and spring semesters with unique performances, lectures, displays and hands-on activities.

On Indigenous Peoples Day, Oct. 8, 2023, the Stewart Library collaborated with the Native American Student Association (NASA) and the Native American Cultural Center (NACC), to place lawn signs around campus acknowledging Indigenous nations who have cared for and continue to care for the land WSU sits on.

NASA and the NACC also worked with the library to open the exhibit Honoring Native Sovereignty on Nov. 1, 2023, the first day of Native American Heritage Month. The exhibit included a geomap of historic tribal treaty boundaries created by faculty member Ryan Frazier. Guests also wrote notes with suggestions for amplifying Indigenous knowledge. Additional WSU events held throughout the month included a sunrise ceremony near the Stewart Bell Tower, a workshop to learn Diné (Navajo) rug-weaving techniques and more.

“These events have really brought great conversation and created an opportunity for all students and visitors on campus to learn, experience and enjoy,” said Amanda Jones

WSU welcomed Darren Parry, WSU graduate, University of Utah professor and former chair of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, on March 21. He spoke to campus on Indigenous views related to sustainability. Parry was also the keynote speaker for the 17th Annual WSU Native Symposium on Nov. 9, 2023.

On March 30, NASA hosted the 44th Annual Indigenous Voices Pow Wow, which included dancing, music and arts. The student association welcomed dancers from tribal nations across the country and guests of all backgrounds to WSU.

WSU PROFESSORS GO IN-DEPTH WITH virtual reality

From exploring Machu Picchu to saving lives, Weber State students build on what they learn in class through virtual reality.

Assistant Professor of History James Almeida, an expert in the Inca Empire, learned about virtual reality technology from WSU’s Information Technology Division.

“I like to give my students a variety of ways to experience history, like podcasts, visual art and film, to engage them in different ways,” Almeida said.

His world history students recently built on what they learned in readings and discussions by virtually restoring and decorating a Machu Picchu home, or exploring and restoring a temple at the complex. They commented that they loved seeing the architecture in detail, appreciated the respect given to Inca culture and wished they could have spent more time on it.

London Draper Lowe, professor of nursing, incorporated VR technology into her disaster nursing class through an innovative technology project launched by WSU Online.

The experience focused on treating patients in accidents, environmental disasters and even mass casualty situations. Students could virtually talk to patients, read their vitals and more.

“It is difficult to simulate what things would be like in a real-life event, such as the Vegas shooting or at the Boston Marathon, and VR comes closer than any other type of simulation we’ve utilized in the past, online or in-person,” Draper Lowe said. Students commented that it was among their favorite experiences in the nursing program.

SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR RETIRES WITH LINDQUIST AWARD, Last Lecture

Professor of Sociology Carla Koons Trentelman stayed busy right up until she retired from Weber State in spring 2024, leaving a legacy of community involvement.

In her last year, Trentelman received the 2024 John A. Lindquist Award and delivered a Last Lecture, where instructors give a hypothetical final presentation to students and colleagues.

She graduated from Weber State College in 1982. After a nearly 20-year career in substance abuse counseling, she went on to earn master’s and doctoral degrees from Utah State University, both in sociology with a specialization in environmental and natural resource sociology. Joining the faculty in 2008, Trentelman taught classes focused on community engaged learning and research, developing partnerships with organizations including Catholic Community Services, the Weber Housing Authority and Ogden School District.

She plans to continue her involvement into retirement, which will also give her more time to advocate for causes she’s passionate about, such as the health of the Great Salt Lake.

STEWART LIBRARY LETTERCRAFT EVENTS connect international students to home

Stewart Library held five Lettercraft events to help students reach out to loved ones near and far during the 2023–24 academic year.

The library provided materials such as wax seals, fountain pens and rubber stamps, along with cards, envelopes and postage, for students to write and mail letters.

International students accounted for nearly a third of letter writers. Those from France, Nepal, Australia and many other countries participated.

“Our international students were delighted to have the chance to send letters worldwide, and took advantage of that to write five or six letters all at once,” said Erich Goeckeritz, Stewart Library administrative associate. “This tangible method of communication allowed these students to express themselves and their Weber State experience in a thoughtful, deliberate way to their loved ones.”.

RESPIRATORY THERAPY GRADUATE FINDS SCHOLARSHIPS, SUCCESS
amid family hardship

Rachel Okwabi chose Weber State for its proximity to nature, small class sizes and since it’s one of the few universities offering a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy.

She earned that degree in spring 2024, thanks in part to scholarships during a difficult time.

As Okwabi completed her last prerequisite to enter the program, her mother was hospitalized for several months due to pulmonary hypertension and underwent multiple surgeries.

Okwabi was inspired seeing how respiratory therapists helped her mother, but the family’s medical expenses and loss of income made paying for school challenging. “My parents were helping me pay, and my mom wasn’t able to go back to work after the surgeries,” Okwabi said.

She also had to limit her own work hours due to classes, preparing for the respiratory therapy program and traveling between her home in Ogden and Salt Lake City to visit her mother in the hospital.

Okwabi’s parents arrived in the United States with her older sister from Ghana in 1994. She recalls her parents encouraging their children to pursue higher education while growing up. Thankfully, she was able to continue pursuing that dream with scholarships from both the Department of Respiratory Therapy and Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions as she completed her major.

At a college banquet honoring students and donors, Okwabi expressed her gratitude to donors and pride in joining the percentage of respiratory therapists who are Black or African American (12.6% in 2022 according to the United States Census Bureau). “One of the many concerns I had worried about was how I was going to be able to pay for school,” Okwabi said. “Thanks to all your amazing donations, that was possible.”

“One of the many concerns I had worried about was how I was going to be able to pay for school,” Okwabi said

LOVE STORIES AND ANTIHEROES: Department of English offers Taylor Swift Studies

Weber State’s Department of English launched a new elective course focused on Taylor Swift Studies in spring 2024 with more than 30 undergraduate and graduate students signing up to study the award-winning singer.

Teaching Taylor Swift is a growing trend in higher education institutions, with WSU joining schools like Brigham Young University, the University of California-Berkeley and Harvard in offering classes focused on Swift. Electives like Taylor Swift Studies are a good way to introduce students to topics or areas of study they might not otherwise explore, Associate Professor of English Emily January said.

“I think a lot of what’s happening in higher education is that we’re having to not only connect to the students in class, but we need to entice them to enroll in the first place,” January said. “If we’re giving them this with something they’re already familiar with, then we give them the power to learn and educate themselves about the deeper issues that surround those beloved topics.”

Each week, January selected a different theme for class readings and discussions: girlhood, politics and feminism, to name a few.

Senior Lindsey Rowley has listened to Swift since her debut album and has enjoyed the robust in-class discussions. She said January excels at challenging students and pushing them to “read between the lyrics.”

“It’s academically enlightening. I feel like I learn something new or adopt a new way of thinking that I would not have gained otherwise,” Rowley said.

January is teaching Taylor Swift Studies again in fall 2024.

NEW ESPORTS LAB BRINGS research opportunities

Weber State students can now study the physiological effects video games have on the human body in a new esports lab, part of the university’s recently renovated Human Performance Lab.

The Human Performance Lab features state-of-the-art equipment for exercise and sport science students to conduct fitness testing and research. The accompanying esports lab has six computers, used by WSU esports junior varsity teams and research personnel, to investigate the impact of gaming on different body processes.

“This is a new and exciting area of exercise science,” said Kristin Hadley, dean of the Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education.

GODDARD SCHOOL LAUNCHES student ambassador program

A team of student ambassadors is getting the word out about the Goddard School of Business & Economics. Throughout the 2023–24 academic year, 10 students held a variety of events to engage students and promote the school’s programs in the community and at high schools.

Ambassadors organized a business case competition, led tours for prospective students, spoke at local schools and created communication platforms to help current students learn about majors, clubs and opportunities within the school.

Preston West, the sole student ambassador the previous year, worked with faculty and Interim Dean Doris Geide-Stevenson to grow the team — and it will continue that growth, with up to 16 members in 2024–25.

“We’ve made friendships, overcome challenges, learned a lot, had tons of fun, and laid the foundation for something big. And we’re just getting started,” West said.

LEARNING AT THE Scene of the Crime

Criminal justice students are gaining out-of-classroom experience collecting and storing evidence, developing fingerprints and photographing crime scenes — all within the basement and surrounding area of a home on Taylor Avenue in Ogden.

The new CSI house, located in Annex 9 on the east side of campus, can be transformed into the site of a residential burglary, a motorcycle accident, a homicide or a variety of other scenarios.

“This house lets students apply concepts in as realistic a scenario as possible,” said Mitch Pilkington, assistant professor. “It has really enhanced students’ learning experience.”

Personal Connections & Academic Excellence