He attended South Sevier High in Monroe, Utah,
and Cedar City High School before enrolling at SUU in the fall of 1990. But
before Larry stepped on campus, he had his doubts about SUU and wondered about the
quality of education he would receive here. He even saw SUU as his “backup
plan.”
“I was wrong,” he now says. “I came to realize
that learning in a small class atmosphere at bargain tuition is truly
priceless. It was an experience that I did not fully understand nor appreciate
until I moved to a metropolitan area, attended a large learning institution,
and became a number instead of a person.”
Among his many highlights as an SUU student was
reinforcing life-long friendships with people like Stewart Clarke (’95), Shon
Wilson (’98), and Daniel Cotts (’93), as well as forging new relationships with
Darris Clark, Ben Baldwin (’95), and Regan Wilson (’96). Those relationships
alone, (thanks in part to Sigma Chi) cause Larry to call himself blessed for
making his way to SUU.
He is also grateful to SUU for showing him new
ideas and different ways of thinking.
“I was able to be exposed to thinking and ideas
that were different and directly in conflict with my own, forcing me to grow as
a person as well as a student,” he explains.
To those currently attending SUU, Larry
encourages spending plenty of time enjoying clubs and organizations.
“Go out of your comfort zone and experience
different viewpoints on life,” he says. “You should also Go Greek, even if
‘it’s not my thing.’”
Larry also met his wife, Shannon Bennett (’98),
at SUU and credits her for seeing potential in him what he could not see
himself, and refusing to allow him to be satisfied with mediocrity.
“I owe everything to her,” he says.
The couple resides in Mankato, Minnesota, and
has three kids, Jordan age 20 (and a sophomore at SUU), Jack age 10, and Sammy
age 8.
When not working on teeth, Larry enjoys
traveling, scuba diving, snorkeling, golfing, and running marathons with his
family.
