Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Keri Mecham is Transforming Students into Lifelong Leaders

While Keri Mecham is distinctive in her vocation and how she discharges her responsibilities, she is among a significant number of Cedar City residents who have chosen to live here after matriculating from elsewhere to Southern Utah University.

She grew up in Magna, Utah, and had youthful dreams of a life as a ballerina, a firefighter, an actress, or even a real-life Indiana Jones. She never imagined she would one day serve as the director of student involvement and leadership for a state university. But, she has distinguished herself as particularly adept in that role, which includes programming and advisement of students in leadership positions. That work, of course, impacts the entire student body and the community and world beyond.

Mindy Benson is SUU’s vice president for alumni and community relations, but served in the equivalent of Keri’s post for a number of years, and in doing so, embraced the legacy of her father, Ken Benson. She knows full well the value of that position in enhancing the future of students.

“Keri is a joy to work with and has a longstanding history and commitment to SUU,” says Benson. “In an important role, she always has the students’ best interests in mind and helps them transform into lifelong leaders.”

A 1991 graduate of Cyprus High School, Keri was among the first fall freshmen at the newly designated university and threw herself into collegiate life, drawing upon her extensive high school involvement.

She chose SUU partly because others had praised the school as a great place to be involved and decided it would also be a good fit for her. The history major and art minor went on to activity in Alpha Phi Beta sorority as a charter member of Alpha Phi national sorority, and service in a variety of other roles here, including a year as activities vice president in the year of the University’s centennial celebration.

Steeped in her SUU studies, she took off from school between her sophomore and junior years and embarked on a tour of Europe, where she fell in love with the charm and vibrancy of London, with its West End theater life, with Paris and its art and history, and with the beautiful mountains of Germany, all of which she says greatly contributed to her education.

Following her 1997 graduation, she was influenced by her own student government advisor, Tiffany Evans, to follow that career path, and went on to serve an internship at Utah State University and work in the field at Utah Valley and USU while earning a master’s degree in the discipline from the University of Utah.

When the position opened here, she jumped at it.

“I was excited to return to SUU and Cedar City,” she says, praising the culture and beauty of the area, and the attendant opportunities, including hiking, camping and backpacking.

She says her favorite aspect of her job is helping others grow and develop as leaders of their fellow students and as future leaders of their chosen communities.




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