As the first child from her family to go away to
college, Charmaine Wilde (’08, political science) knew she wanted an atmosphere
where she could thrive and be more than just another college student. She found
that, and more, at Southern Utah University.
A 2002 graduate of Utah’s Taylorsville High
School, Charmaine discovered that SUU’s small, nurturing environment was for
her, as well as the abundance of opportunity to be involved in a variety of
campus programs.
Known during her SUU years as Chow Milner,
Charmaine immersed herself in campus life with the SUU student association,
judicial council, Orchesis dance team, the honors program, and the local
chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, which she helped create.
As a political science major, she was part of Pi Sigma Alpha honor society, and
was also a member of the philosophy club, LDSSA, and served as a mentor with Big
Brothers Big Sisters, where she mentored a young woman for three years. She maintains
contact with that young woman and has continued to help her through the years.
Charmaine completed most of her classes in 2005,
and then put her education on hold to serve an LDS mission in Hawaii. Upon her
return, she married and moved to Texas where she finished her degree through independent
studies and online. Charmaine is ever grateful to SUU faculty and staff who
created the path so she could finish her degree at SUU and begin law school at
Baylor University the fall of 2009.
Charmaine enjoyed her social life while a
student and says, “Fun was never hard to find at SUU.”
Fun college memories include hiking, hanging out
at the Pastry Pub with friends, and having a party for her space heater when it
died.
Another fond memory was attending a theatre arts
and dance department awards banquet at the end of the year. She heard that
everyone “dresses up” for the event and she thought that meant costumes since
it was theatre and dance, so she dressed up like a pirate. In the end everyone
was in formal ball gowns, prom dresses, and tuxedos. “I was a pirate, and even
had to go on stage for something dressed as a pirate among all the fancy
dresses,” she says.
