Cindy Lamb Hatch: Proud of the Honor to be Entrusted with Outstanding Students

Cindy Lamb Hatch is a St. George native and Pine View High School graduate, who earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education and later an M.Ed. from SUU, and she made a pronounced difference in the lives of hundreds of children in her 14-year teaching career.

At St. George’s Sandstone Elementary School, she taught second grade for a decade and taught first grade students for three years before teaching science in her final year to Sandstone’s 600-plus students from kindergarten to fifth grade on a rotation schedule for the school's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program.

“When I taught science,” she says of her STEM experience, “I helped reinforce concepts taught in the regular classroom. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. Every grade level project had to be prepped for about 100 students. I loved it though because the kids were always excited to be there, and our class deepened their love and knowledge of science.”

Cindy left her second home and family at Sandstone last year and is now staying home with her daughter, born in July. She and her husband of three years, Ryan, have three children, two of whom Cindy says she is “lucky to be a bonus mom” to, plus the newest addition to the family.

When she first started at SUU, Cindy, like many students, explored a few other majors before finally choosing an education major. She was drawn to the program by her love of helping kids, and she thought the program would be fun, too. She reports that an education major was a lot more work than she ever anticipated.

While in the BLOCK program, Cindy really started to find her creative side when it came to teaching. The BLOCK experience helped carry her through all of her years in the classroom.

 “It's no secret that teachers don't have large yearly budgets, so I really learned how to create my own projects and put my spin on things,” she recalls. “The creative aspect of teaching was my favorite part. The challenge was always in finding ways to make lessons memorable without spending any money, or basically making something out of nothing.”

A highlight of Cindy's experiences in education was her association with her colleagues, she says, and adds that she loved working with parents, especially parents of first graders, because first grade students made significant growth progress throughout a school year.

Cindy credits her undergraduate studies for giving her a strong foundation to begin her teaching career. She says, “I felt like I always had a lot of support from the professors. They were very personable and created environments where we could all learn from each other.”

In the graduate program, Cindy says she really learned to “dig in deep,” which took her teaching to a higher level.

“When I got my master's degree in education,” she says, “I learned that I was an effective teacher based on the research I did for my thesis project. My project gave me a lot of confidence in myself as an educator. It showed me that all my efforts were making a difference. Getting my master's degree was one of the best things I've done.”

“I am the most proud of the kids I was able to teach,” says Cindy when asked about her proudest career accomplishment. “I hope I was able to make even the smallest impact on their lives. I always felt like it was an honor to be entrusted with such outstanding students.”

Brett Barney Found His Career Purpose at SUU's School of Business

Brett Barney, a native of Richfield, Utah, and a graduate of Richfield High, is never hesitant to speak of the education and experiences of Southern Utah University, from which he twice earned degrees.

He received his bachelor's degree in accounting in 1999 and his Master of Accountancy degree the following year. He and his wife Julie (McIff, ’96) reside in Mapleton, Utah, with their three sons.

Brett serves as the U.S. controller for doTERRA, the worldwide leader in essential oils manufacturing and sales, in Pleasant Grove, Utah. His position entails making sure that all of the accounting and financial reporting is done correctly and on time each month, quarter, and year. As manager of his staff, he is responsible for creating a productive and positive work environment.

He says he really found his career purpose in the SUU School of Business. Although he enjoyed exploring various majors across campus, once Brett tried business courses, he says felt he had found his home. He was particularly drawn to accounting because “there is usually a right answer,” and because he could employ problem-solving skills.

“I remember my days at SUU very fondly,” he says. “The small university setting, which is more intimate and personalized, worked well for me. I was not just a face in the crowd. I loved Cedar City and SUU. Additionally, I felt very comfortable and well prepared moving into my career. SUU was the right choice for me. I have never regretted it.”

Brett was confident in his preparation for employment, landing a job following graduation with Deloitte & Touche, one of the world’s Big Four accounting firms. While going through interviews on campus with Las Vegas employers, Brett was impressed when recruiters remarked that SUU graduates were better prepared, more responsible, and more mature than their peers. He has worked with many colleagues from bigger universities but always felt that he was equally prepared and equally capable of doing the job.

In addition to being well prepared for employment tasks by SUU, Brett says he also learned about developing a strong work ethic and strategic study habits, which greatly assisted him in passing the CPA exam. He was always proud that SUU ranked very favorably among all of the other Utah private and public school programs in the CPA passage rate.

When reflecting on his career, Brett says he is grateful to have made consistent, steady progress from a staff accountant in public accounting to a controller position at a private company.

“I'm proud of my work ethic,” he says. “I don't stop and reflect very often, but I'm proud that I've tried to work hard, be honest and ethical, and show fairness to my co-workers and clients."

When he is not working, Brett enjoys spending time doing anything involving his kids, like sporting events and traveling. He also loves to golf, read, watch movies, and to enjoy the outdoors, especially Fish Lake and Yellowstone.
“Whenever we are in Cedar City, we always find ourselves driving past campus, sometimes stopping and walking around reliving great memories,” Brett says. “You don't make a point of doing that with a place that doesn't mean something to you. For me, SUU is full of good memories and good people, people who care about developing students and relationships.”