Linda Milianta is the Lady Who Walks

A familiar figure in Cedar City, Linda Milianta is known to many as “the lady who walks.”

Her cheery disposition and ever-positive attitude have brightened the days of many over the years as she has passed by, and after logging more than 50,000 miles and wearing out countless pairs of shoes, she continues to walk the same five-mile route every day, seven days a week, all year-long, in rain, wind or shine.

Before retiring in 2010 after a 32-year career as a second grade teacher at North Elementary School, she used to walk every day after school to help her to unwind and have time to herself. Back then, many people recognized her via the bright yellow headset and radio she’d carry with her as she walked. Now, although with smaller headphones, Linda continues her walks in the mornings and listens to country stations or to Thunder 91 as she rambles, waving from time to time to friends or fellow travelers who call out or honk car horns.

She knows the town well. Her father, Robert Avedesian, came to Cedar City to serve in the Army Air Corps training detachment here and met and married LaZon Woolsey. They were both highly active figures in Cedar City for decades, and parents to Betty (Rosenberg) and of Linda, who met her sweetheart, Marion (Tiffer) C. Robb, at Cedar City High School. The couple got engaged in his white 1964 Ford truck on her graduation night and planned on living happily ever after together. Linda worked while he attended college and anxiously awaited the birth of their first child.

Two weeks after their daughter Debbie’s birth, Tiffer left for the Vietnam War. Just months before his slated return in 1969, however, tragedy struck and he drowned in the South China Sea. The unwelcome news reached home and turned Linda’s world upside down.

After Tiffer’s passing, Linda says the Cedar City community was very supportive. She later got to know many Vietnam veterans while working on the war memorial in town, but her early dream of being a stay-at-home mother had long-since changed.

“I realized I needed to take care of myself,” Linda says today, still with tears in her eyes. “I went back to school with help from Veterans Affairs and earned my degree from SUU in 1977 in elementary education. At first the only reason I wanted to teach was so I could have summers off with my children but it turned out to be the perfect job for me and I loved it.”

Soon after graduation she was hired to teach second grade at North. She was terrified for her first day, but fellow teacher Donna Benson (’76) took her under her wing and helped her get through those first couple of tough years.

“Donna became the best friend I ever had. We taught second grade together for 20 years,” Linda says of her friend who passed away in January.

Linda poured her heart and soul into her career and was known as a caring and enthusiastic teacher. The children were her favorite thing about her job and her fellow teachers supported and cared for her like family, she says. 

SUU Was Life Experience and Hands On Learning for Sara Greener

A native of Layton, Utah, Sara England Greener (’05) fell in love with Southern Utah University during a high school recruiting event hosted by Sandra Lord Thomas (’93) at Layton High School. That’s all it took for Sara to know that SUU was exactly where she wanted to attend college.

And once on campus, she loved everything Sandra had told her to expect: amazing professors who knew her name, on-campus housing, great roommates, student activities, clubs, an amazing community, and the natural beauty of southern Utah.

“The education I received at SUU was more than opening a book and reading a chapter; it was life experience and learning hands on,” she says of her academic experience.

During her junior year, and with the encouragement of friends, Sara began to reach beyond her comfort zone and decided to become more involved on campus. “That was the year that changed my life forever,” she says.

Student government became a natural venue for her involvement, and she ran for vice president of student activities, and won. She learned important life lessons during her time serving students that prepared her for future work in event planning, leading and working a group, and being a positive force in connecting with people.

“I also learned I am more capable than I ever gave myself credit for, and that I can do things I never dreamt of doing,” she says.

Following graduation, Sara worked for the Utah Shakespeare Festival as guest services manager and was on the front-line of customer service with thousands of guests. After 14 years with the Festival, she moved to the SUU Advancement Office in 2014, where she is the executive assistant to Vice President Stuart Jones (’86), who can also point to a rich training ground in leadership fostered by SUU. He was the 1985-86 student body president.

“I am so proud to be involved with the team that works tirelessly to fundraise for the University,” Sara says. “It’s amazing the support I see come in from not only the community, but also alumni who give back to support scholarships, programs, and in making our campus a first-class educational institution.”

Sara and her husband Justin, a 2008 graduate of SUU, are the parents to five children and live in Enoch, Utah. She enjoys spending time with her family outdoors and going on adventures.

Jennifer Walstad Had Full Confidence When She Entered the Job Market

When Jennifer Powell Walstad graduated from SUU in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree and certification in elementary education and theater arts, she was ready to hit the ground running with full confidence gained from exceptional hands-on experience she gained as a student.

She was not shocked by the “real world” when she entered the workforce, and her preparation helped her pursue a lifelong dream of teaching, leading her up the ranks to become the district academic director for American Preparatory Schools, as well as a stage manager for the Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

As district academic director, Jennifer oversees the hiring, training, and professional development of staff as well as K-12 curriculum and academic progress of all of the students at the seven charter schools in her district, ranging from Las Vegas, Nevada, to her hometown West Valley City, Utah. As stage manager, she is able to serve her church community through productions such as Mormon Tabernacle Choir concerts, Temple Celebration events, Savior of the World, Nauvoo and British Pageants, and New Year’s Eve events. Even with all of this on her plate, Jennifer has had 100 percent of her students pass their Criterion Reference Tests in every subject area for three straight years, and has successfully managed a production of more than 20,000 participants.

Jennifer lives in Lehi, UT, and when she isn’t busy in her administrative and stage managing roles, she enjoys playing with her kids, singing, participating in theater, teaching anything, spreadsheets, and reminiscing about the happy memories of hard work and laughs from her time at SUU.