SUU vs UCLA Gymnastics Meet

The Thunderbird Gymnastics team upset the NCAA defending national champion UCLA Bruins 194.750 - 194.425 in front of a home crowd of more than 5,000 in the Centrum on Friday, January 14.

"This was an incredible meet tonight, " head coach Scott Bauman said at the end of the night. "The crowd really made all the difference. I don't want to take away from our gymnasts, but that crowd was what really helped us win by three-tenths tonight."

UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field was equally impressed with the SUU crowd. After the meet she came on the floor to speak to the crowd over the public address system and called the Centrum atmosphere the best competitive atmosphere she has ever experienced. She also praised our Thunderbird team and coaching staff.

Take a look at a few pictures from this historic meet, courtesy of Dr. Deb Hill and Dr. Greg Stauffer:

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Left to right: Lindsey Schultz, Bailey Pendley, Ari Lamb & Caitlin Kennedy

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Left to right: Lauren Jeffrey, Shannon Coughlin, Michaela Chernoch & Brooke Cersosimo

Prior to the meet, SUU Alumni, Thunderbird Athletics and SUUSA hosted a party in the Sharwan Smith Center Rotunda that was attended by an estimated 1,000 Flippin' Birds fans.

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Left to right: Jared Wilcken ('98), Karl Bradshaw ('58) & Jeannine Davis serve up sandwiches; Enoch & Tasha Decker ('01) Seegmiller family and Thor enjoying the food and festivities.

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Left to right: Louise Hill Jones ('72) and Brenda Stones Schmutz ('82); Patrick Terrones & Marsha Rowley ('10) two of the busiest and hardest working members of the SUU Facilities staff.

Glory Days

It was a clear and beautiful Saturday morning, in September 1988, my brother and I packed up our late model Ford with everything needed to survive a year away at college. As we backed out of the driveway I looked up to see tears streaming down my mother's face as she stood on the porch waving as her two oldest sons drove away to college. For my brother it was his second year, this was my first venture away from home.

The drive to Cedar City seemed to take forever, as I couldn't wait to establish myself and become the independent "adult" I knew college life would provide for me. Once we finally arrived we pulled up to College Park, it was even better than what it had appeared in my previous Cedar City trips. There were tennis courts in the back-yard and it was across the street from the football stadium. This had to be the hub of all college life. We hunted down the apartment manager, paid the rent for our first quarter, picked up our keys and started moving in. Being the first renter to move in, we had the pick of rooms. I quickly unpacked and soon my roommates and neighbors began to show up. I busied myself the rest of the day helping my new friends get settled into their apartments.

The following week brought Welcome Week and Freshman Orientation. All of my roommates had been at SUU for at least a year and they encouraged me to skip the events. I later found this to be a mistake as the Welcome Week activities are a great way to meet new people.

Finally, the first day of classes arrived. I walked the block from my apartment to the Centrum. As I stepped in Psychology 101 taught by Les Jones I quickly scoured the room for a familiar face; seeing no one, I soon settled on what looked to be a friendly face. I climbed the stairs and asked if the seat was taken. With a smile on her face, she told me it was empty, I sat down and quickly played the "get to know you game" before Professor Jones started class. After 45 minutes of syllabus review, class discussion, question & answer time and even a bit of an introductory lecture, class was dismissed. I repeated the same activity multiple times that day, in Old Main, the Business Building, and the General Classroom Building.

After a full day of classes I walked back to my apartment, exhausted. Little did I know that day was my first day of self-discovery. While at SUU I would learn discipline, I grew socially, and emotionally, I gained respect for others as well as myself. I was provided opportunities to serve in Student Government, was a member of a Fraternity, gave campus tours as a Presidential Ambassador and traveled to Los Angeles and Orlando with PBL. Yes, SUU provided me opportunities and experiences that I would never even have imagined on that first day. Yes, the best was still yet to come.

"Glory Days" is a recurring post by Clinton Painter, a 1994 alumnus with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

Alumni Spotlight: Kristie Johnson

Kristie Johnson (’10, Communication) is the executive assistant at the National American Indian Housing Council and always knew SUU would help in her goal of working in the non-profit sector in Washington D.C.

Kristie’s experience with the National American Indian Housing Council (HAIHC) has been phenomenal. She says, “I’ve had the ability to effectively and efficiently promote and support American Indians, Alaska Natives and native Hawaiians in their self-determined goal to provide culturally relevant and quality affordable housing for native people.”

She serves the community in D.C. by mentoring new American Indian youth interns.  She tries to make it a smoother transition for them and let them know they are not alone.

During her time at SUU she was involved in the Upward Bound Program. LeAnn Maxwell, the program’s director, impacted her success by shaping Kristie to lead by example, to have passion in all that she does, to communicate effectively, to be a great listener and always be herself.

Kristie’s favorite memory of SUU is the multi-cultural center. It was her home away from home and a place where she and her friends studied and practically lived. Whenever she returns to campus the center is the first place she wants to visit.

She is a member of the Navajo Tribe from Monument Valley, Utah on the Navajo Indian Reservation and is a first generation college graduate. The greatest recognition is the pride of her grandmother proud for the work she is doing in Washington D.C. She loves conversing in her own language with others who are interested in learning.

Kristie lives in Washington, D.C., and has applied for graduate school in public health with an emphasis in communication/marketing.