SUU to Family Legacy

Janice Miller, Rylie Miller and Don Miller

The Miller family of southern Nevada has created a SUU Alumni legacy spanning three generations.

This legacy started with Don Miller, who graduated in 1961 from what was then the College of Southern Utah (CSU). He earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. At this time, CSU had not yet become a four-year college, so his degree was earned through a cooperative program through Utah State University. Following graduation, Don went on to enjoy a successful and respected career in education where he served for many years as the principal of the elementary school in Boulder City, Nevada. He and his wife Janice have four children: Brent, Mark, Brian, and Michelle. Don is now retired and lives in St. George, Utah.

Rylie Miller and Brent Miller

Twenty-three years after his graduation, Don’s son, Brent, graduated from Southern Utah State College (SUSC) with a degree in zoology. Brent served as a science senator in the ASSUSC Student Senate and following graduation, he attended Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. After graduating with his DDS in 1988, he returned to Las Vegas and has enjoyed a successful practice known for kindness and individualized attention ever since.

Mark followed Brent three years later, and following in his brother’s footsteps, served on the ASSUSC Student Senate as a freshman senator. He thoroughly enjoyed his time at SUSC and graduated in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Mark’s greatest memories include the relationships he built with classmates and faculty at the college.

Brian Miller and Mark Miller

Like his brothers before him, Brian embraced T-Bird Nation quickly and was a forward on the basketball team, a position he played for two seasons. Brian also served on campus for two years in the ASSUSC student senate as science senator. Brian’s love for the game of basketball continues today, and he enjoys attending SUU basketball games when he is in Cedar City and making a traditional stop at Brad’s Food Hut. He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in biology/zoology.

After their time at SUSC, both Mark and Brian graduated from Southern California College of Optometry and completed their residencies at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Today Drs. Mark and Brian are the owners of Advanced Eye Care in Las Vegas. They have been partners for many years and are well-regarded for their successful practice and caring demeanor.

Brian Miller and Jordan Miller

The Miller family tradition at SUU has continued into the third generation, starting with Brent’s daughter Rylie, who graduated this past May with a bachelor’s degree in athletic training. She completed her time at SUU as the valedictorian of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson College of Education and Human development and was a finalist for Scholar of the Year at the Thunderbird Awards. She had the opportunity to be an athletic trainer for both the football and men’s basketball teams, and is now pursuing a master’s degree in athletic leadership at Boise State University while serving as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for their women’s swimming and diving team.

There was also another Miller on campus this past year as well. Rylie’s cousin, Jordan, (Brian’s son) attended his first year of college at SUU during the 2018-2019 school year. He enjoyed his freshman year as a Thunderbird and will return to the most beautiful campus in the world following the completion of missionary service in Sao Paulo, Brazil for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So while there may not be a member of the Miller family on campus this fall, they maintain a great love for the University.

We are grateful for these three generations of Thunderbirds who truly represent what it means to create an alumni legacy.  

SUU to Director of Leisure Services

Cody Schmitt is deputy director of leisure services for St. George, Utah, and a proud 2017 graduate of Southern Utah University’s master of public administration (MPA) program.

SUU’s MPA program was a perfect fit for Cody because it complemented his work schedule, and he found that his school projects lined up perfectly with his full-time work. From policy to budget, and everything in between, Cody discovered that he could immediately apply what he was learning to what he was experiencing, real-time, in his career.

And as a working professional, Cody found that his professors, who focused on students individually, routinely pushed him to excel while also being respectful of his professional commitments.

“I learned that I can do hard things,” says Cody of his educational experience.

He also found tremendous value in his study abroad program, a required component of the capstone project in SUU’s MPA program, and describes study abroad as something that he will remember for the rest of his life.

The trip included time in Prague, Budapest, and Austria where he met with government leaders to learn about each country’s transportation system and how community design impacts the health and mindset of residents. 

“They prioritize biking and walking,” he says, and found that “education is a top priority for people over there.”

The study abroad experience broadened his understanding of who we really are as people and how we all live differently. Plus, he was able to focus on his own career path and his desire to be an influence for good by making decisions that will improve his community.

“I want people to be happy and I want them to be outside,” he says. “I also want them to interact, and my career does that.”

A native of Shelley, Idaho, Cody loves his job at St. George’s recreation department, and enjoys being outside. He particularly loves mountain biking and is the head mountain bike coach at Pine View High School in Washington, Utah. He actively participates in his church congregation working with scouting and young men, and supports the arts and veterans, having placed more than 1,000 wreaths on veterans’ graves.

He and his wife Chandra are the proud parents of six children.

SUU to Living Legend

With a gift for recognizing the good in all things and then contributing to the improvement of the world around her, Mary Jane Seaman, who will celebrate her 98^th birthday this October, is the 2019 recipient of Carmen Rose Hepworth Alumni Award which is presented annually at Thunderbird Awards.

Born the third of four children to William Warner and Georgia Brown Mitchell in Parowan, Utah, Mary Jane was an outdoor player and loved climbing in the trees and playing in the loft. She particularly enjoyed baseball and was typically found on the pitcher’s mound where she earned the nickname of “duck-legs” due to her short appendages.

An accomplished pianist, Mary Jane began taking lessons at a young age and soon discovered that she loved the piano and even enjoyed practicing. Her natural talents at the keyboard became evident at the young age of 12, when she went to her customary piano lesson after a long day at school and discovered she had forgotten her piano book. Unfazed, she proceeded with her lesson and played each piece perfectly from memory. Mary Jane later furthered her piano training by taking a six-week course in Salt Lake City at the well-respected McCune School of Music.

While a student at the Branch Agricultural College (BAC), Mary Jane earned money playing the piano for Professor LaVeve Whetten’s dance classes. LaVeve would set the rhythm to the dance she was improvising, and then Mary Jane would improvise by creating the music to which the class would dance. She earned $1 a class; each generally lasted one hour and sometimes stretched to three hours.

Her expertise on the piano landed her opportunities to play with dance bands, string quartets, and even to accompany a ladies trio that took second place in a national competition in Miami, Florida. She has been an in-demand accompanist for many local vocalists, has played with finesse and beauty in her church congregations, and for decades played “The Grand Old BAC” at the annual Homecoming Banquet.

Mary Jane thoroughly loved her student experience at the BAC and enjoyed fellow classmates and professors who knew each other and always welcomed one-on-one visits. Today she remains devoted to her alma mater and is a constant influence for good at University events and festivities. She was a longtime volunteer at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and has generously contributed to numerous causes that have elevated this institution and its students.

She wed Grant Seaman, a forest ranger by profession, in 1940, and together they raised six children, four of whom are graduates of SUU.

SUU to Middle School Language Arts Chair

Laura Vanderslice is impacting the world of education as head of the language arts department at Desert Hills Middle School in St. George, Utah.

Originally from Delta, Utah, Laura graduated magna cum laude from SUU in 1996 with a major in English, a minor in Spanish, and a certificate in secondary education. In 2004, she earned a master’s degree in education from SUU.

Laura is a 22-year veteran of the Washington County School District, and taught 17 years at Dixie Middle School and is now in her fifth year at Desert Hills Middle School.

While there are many rewards for being an educator, Laura says she always experiences a “proud moment” when she receives a thank you note from her students. Her students are a great source of pride.

Growing up, Laura had dreams of becoming a biologist or a veterinarian, but she quickly changed her mind once she discovered that working with animals would require, on occasion, putting then down.

“I have always loved school so it was a good fit,” she says of her career choice.

Dannielle Robinson and Laura, freshmen
year roommates and still best friends.

Laura has always been independent, but while a student at SUU she learned, out of necessity, the valuable lesson of budgeting her time and money. As a result, she earned good grades and still had plenty of fun while a fulltime student.

She loved her campus experience and how her professors knew her on a first name basis. Her literature classes were a highlight because she could read and discuss books, which she loves. Favorite professors included Dave Lee, Kay Cook, and S.S. Morty.

Laura has three sons and is married to Kurt Vanderslice. She enjoys traveling, and looks for opportunities to be outside, particularly if she can read a good book on the beach. A fierce competitor, Laura has competed in the Ironman, St. George Marathon (twice), Ragnar and Spartan competitions, and multiple half marathons.

SUU to Financial Advising Practice Co-Owner

Neal Marchant always figured he would become a dentist, but finance classes at Southern Utah University changed his mind and today he is the co-owner of Vantage Advisors, a CPA and financial advising practice in St. George, Utah.

Neal studied both accounting and finance at SUU and graduated in 2002 with a double major, and earned his master’s degree in accountancy the following year.

After graduation, Neal accepted a public accounting position at Deloitte in Las Vegas, Nevada, and later worked for a regional accounting firm before focusing on financial advising.

“I really enjoyed finance classes a lot more than I did my accounting classes,” he says of his SUU experience. “I knew I wanted to do something in finance when I started my career in accounting.”

Neal has many fond memories of his time as a student at SUU, but his favorite was watching the 2000-2001 Thunderbird men’s basketball team. That year the team beat Valparaiso, 62-59, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and won the Summit League Tournament Championship, which qualified the team for NCAA Tournament. SUU nearly pulled off the upset over Boston College, but were narrowly edged out 68-65.

He also has great memories of professors Joe Baker and Steve Harrop, and thoroughly enjoyed watching accounting professor Jeff Barnes spar with the humanities department.

Neal and wife Megan Larkin Marchant, a 2002 SUU graduate, are the parents of six children. He enjoys hiking, fishing, and watching his children participate in athletic and dance activities.

SUU to Softball Champ and Mom

According to her teammates, Jessica Heineman Tringham spent 2000-2004 keeping the Southern Utah University softball team edgy and cool, and did it with a flair for fashion and style. However, Jess truly became fierce when it was time to don that Thunderbird red uniform and compete for SUU. She walked away with a regular season championship in 2003 and a degree in physical education with a minor in nutrition and food science by 2005.

After graduating from Layton High School in 2000, Jess headed to Cedar City, and the first lesson SUU taught her was achievements are dependent upon the right team of people and she learned that the key to success is surrounding herself with amazing people.

Like many freshmen, early college experiences included some growing pains.

“My first year at SUU was rough,” she says. “I didn’t realize how hard being away from my family and friends was going to be. I also didn’t realize how hard it was being a student-athlete. If it weren’t for the support of my family, SUU teammates and coaches, I might not have made it through.”

Jess did much more than just survive. SUU provided her an environment to truly thrive and begin her quest for adventures outside of the box.

“SUU set me up for success,” she explains. “I believe that going to a smaller school helped me get my feet wet. After graduating from Southern Utah, I attended and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) with a fashion merchandise marketing degree and I would not have been as successful without my previous experience at SUU.”

In 2012, Jess embarked on her next great life experience when she married marrying Thomas Tringham, a US Navy Deep Sea Diver. The couple has been have been married for eight years and we have two children, Millie will be six in June and Tommy who turned four at the end of February.

Jess, along with her sister, founded a clothing company for children. But motherhood and the opportunity for her husband to be stationed overseas gave Jess the chance to focus on her family.

“I currently live in Yokosuka, Japan, and about to head to Oauhu, Hawaii, in April,” Jess explains, “I am a full-time stay-at-home mom. I decided to take step back from working at this time due to the constraints of my husband’s career.”

Through her student-athlete experience at SUU, Jess got a taste of what managing life on the road would be like, but even that does not compare to the military lifestyle. She brings a strong spirit and example to her children who are her best accomplishments.

“I am most proud of my marriage and my two kiddos,” she says. “Marriage and raising a family are hard, now throw in the military lifestyle including deployments, long trips away from each other, and living across the world from family.”

Speaking of family, Jess is still able to keep in touch with some of the members of her support group from her days at SUU.

“I keep in touch with a bunch of pals including my former coach, Laurel Simmons – thanks to social media making it so easy,” Jess says. “My former teammate Dusti Winward Puliz and I actually got married the same year and had our first borns within two weeks of each other.”

Along with her teammates, Jess lists some of her SUU favorites as sports Psychology and kinesiology classes as well as Professor Christopher Topher. She was able to make it back to campus in 2015 for homecoming weekend and an alumni softball game.

The cool and edgy freshmen who first stepped on SUU’s campus in 2000 is still setting trends 19 years later. By overcoming separation from family and immersing herself in the college experience, Jess has been able to seek out many big life adventures including raising two children in Japan.

SUU to Basketball Coach

If you were a Thunderbird in the nineties and attended the annual Basketball Bash, you might recall the night “The Jackson 5” made a cameo. Once the starting five on the men’s basketball team traded their uniforms for bell bottoms, one thing became clear: Keith “Shaggy” Berard’s rockin’ robin performance endeared himself to the T-Bird faithful.

The Houston native and St. Thomas High School Graduate made his Cedar City debut in 1993 as a point guard for the men’s basketball team. After some early hankerings for Texas, Berard soon found that SUU had become his home away from home. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in 1996, majoring in communications and minoring in physical education.

“Southern Utah University taught me how to adapt to being far away from home,” he says. “Once I came to SUU, I rarely - if at all - was able to go home. But being around my teammates every day made them family and took away any thoughts of being homesick. I still keep in touch with these guys because we are brothers, just from different mothers.”

While it may have been Keith’s epic dance moves that first put him on the T-Bird map, it was his performances as an all-conference basketball player, DJ on Radio 911, and stints on SUTV that connected him to students from all different backgrounds.

“I loved the hands-on experience we had as students at SUU,” he says. “I was a part of a great communications department, TV studio and radio station. I was able to have my own radio show and produced the Coaches Corner on SUTV. I really enjoyed those opportunities.”

Berard anticipated extending his love of basketball into a sports journalism career, but his playing experience and physical education classes gave him the sideline bug.

“I always knew I wanted to be involved with basketball, but I thought it would be in front of a camera,” Berard explains, “But once I graduated from SUU in 1996 and played professionally in Switzerland, I knew I wanted to coach.”

Through coaching contacts at his high school and junior college, Berard pursued his first coaching job at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas.

“School had already started, but I called the head coach and he told me if I could get out there by Wednesday, the job was mine,” he says. “I packed my things as soon as we hung up the phone, loaded up my Ford Ranger, and headed out to West Texas.”

Berard credits his coaches and teammates at Southern Utah University and beyond for providing inspiration in his coaching career.

“The coaches I played for were mentors and helped guide me as a player and now as a coach,” he says. “It meant a lot to me being named team MVP because that let me know the extra work I put into basketball was noticed. All of my teammates I played with, and even some of the guys who came after me, are some the friendships I value the most.”

Coaching has even brought Berard back to Utah with stints at the former College of Eastern Utah (now USU Eastern) and Weber State, including a chance to coach against his alma mater during the 2012-13 season. Today he is back on the sideline in his hometown of Houston serving as an assistant coach at Houston Baptist University (HBU).

“This is actually my second stop at HBU,” he explains. “Head Coach Ron Cottrell has been here for 28 years and restarted the program from scratch in 1991. What really drew my attention to the job was in 2007, HBU was returning back to Division I. Playing at SUU in the early 90’s as an independent school gave me the background to be able to relate to recruiting student-athletes who would be playing in a similar situation to myself.”

Basketball is not the only arena where Berard has excelled as he has put together a stellar support team that guides him in his life when he steps off the basketball court. He and wife Sabrina McNair have been married for 18 years and have two daughter, Katelyn Dion (age 16) and Khloe Dion (age 12). Being the minority gender in the household, his wife gave him a special gift.

“Since we didn’t have a boy, Sabrina allowed me to give both girls my middle name.” 

These days Berard has traded his MVP trophies for a spectator seat watching his oldest daughter follow in his foot steps on the basketball court, while his youngest daughter dances hip-hop, tap, and ballet.

He has also taken on a father-figure role with several of the student-athletes he has been fortunate enough to coach. And as someone who counted on his Southern Utah teammates as brothers, he understands the important connection and mentoring opportunities coaching provides.

“Professionally, I am in my 21^st year of coaching and enjoy every moment of it,” he says. “But what I am most proud of is when one of my former players calls or texts just to keep in touch and let me know how they are doing.”

Berard credits SUU professors Art Challis (’72) and Dr. Steve Lunt (’57) for helping him diversify his experiences and establish himself as a college basketball coach. He regularly reunites with teammates from his SUU playing days to reminisce about the glory days.

Southern Utah served as the spotlight for his moonwalk (which is still on point) as well as the educational jump start into a successful coaching career.

SUU to Business Owner in the Tech Space

When Molly Moss enrolled at Southern Utah University in the fall of 1987, little did she know that a lasting bond would be forged with a group of friends that would remain close and come to count each other as family.

“Because I don’t have a family of my own, my SUU friends are my family,” she explains. “Some of my closest friends are my former roommates and sorority sisters, and I still keep in touch with a lot of people from my student government days.”

Originally from Evansville, Indiana, Molly graduated from Castle High School and came to SUU to study advertising and public relations. Drs. Suzanne Larson, S.S. Moorty, and Eugene Wolfe made lasting impressions, but Molly points to Dr. Sterling Church as her all-time favorite person at SUU.

“I still have a letter he wrote me years after SUU that is framed,” she says. “I adore that man.”

Molly’s career path started in the advertising world where she worked for some of the best agencies in Salt Lake City. She was coerced by a good friend to enter the recruiting world with the promise that she would be a natural fit. At first Molly was apprehensive but that all changed when she received her first commission check. She has not looked back since.

Today, she owns her own business and contracts with agencies and corporations on the West Coast to help them attract and retain talent within the tech space.

“I specialize in start-ups who are ramping up their director/leadership roles,” she explains of her business.

Molly has many fond college memories including when Southern Utah State College became Southern Utah University in 1991. She still remembers the entire week of celebration like it was yesterday and proudly calls it a remarkable “achievement for little ol’ SUSC!”

Another favorite college memory was Phi Alpha Beta being picked up by Alpha Phi for colonization. The Betas had tried multiple times to align themselves with a national organization but were repeatedly told there was not enough interest on campus. Yet Phi Alpha Beta continued to attract smart and motivated women who thrived and contributed to the SUU community, as well as in their own communities after graduation. She describes that colonization as a proud “mama moment.”

Molly lives in Salt Lake City and is a proud dog mom (essentially a dog butler!) to a Corgi named Sundance. She is a die-hard Broncos fan, loves Real Soccer games, and still gets butterflies every time she passes Cedar City on I-15.

SUU to Credit Union Marketing Director

Matt Yardley, who today thrives as the southern Utah market director for Chartway Federal Credit Union, is a prime exemplar of SUU graduates who live varied and fulfilling lives sparked by their Thunderbird experiences.

A 1996 graduate of Kearns High School in the Salt Lake Valley, he envisioned a life in law, and intended to enter law school after earning his SUU degree in political science with a minor in criminal justice. The University’s pre-law program prepared him well to pursue law school studies and following his 2003 graduation, he enrolled in the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, where he completed the Master of Science in Legal Administration degree, with plans to gain his Juris Doctorate later.

“However,” he says, “after getting my feet wet in the legal field through a variety of internships, I determined that I was better suited for an administrative career, rather than practicing law directly.” He says he fell into a career in banking and finance and could not be happier.

His position with the Virginia-based Chartway entails the oversight of all aspects of the credit union for the southern Utah market, which currently includes five branches from Cedar City to St. George. From member experience to branch production and profitability, he ensures that member’s lives are “truly made affordable through value added products and service.”

It’s a demanding job, but he is quick to credit his SUU education in immensely helping to prepare him for his life’s work.

“At SUU, I learned the importance of effective communication and the value of hard work, and had outstanding staff and faculty members to aid me in my pursuits,” he says, and he has praise for Dean Rodney Decker and Diane Werber of the HSS College staff, and for professors Michael Stathis and Lee Trepanier, each of whom, he says “were dedicated to helping me achieve my goals.”

And, he says, SUU prepared him with many of the leadership and communication skills necessary to run his business. He has fond memories of engaging with the Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service, which helped build his all-around abilities and awareness of the larger world.

He and his wife of 19 years, Whitney, are parents to three sons, and his family forms the foundation of his life. His leisure time affords him the opportunity to man the drum kit in what he calls his “makeshift band,” and for Jeeping with his eldest son in the southern Utah wonderland surrounding the family’s Washington City home.

SUU to Cardiologist and Assistant Professor

Ryan C. Van Woerkom credits SUU’s stellar pre-med program for launching his medical career as a cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine and director of interventional echocardiography at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas Texas.

“It solidified my first official summer research internship at the University of Utah,” he says of his Southern Utah University education. “I wasn’t particularly skilled or qualified for the position, but SUU provided the opportunity. This launched me for my next summer research internship at the Mayo Clinic, and the rest is history.”

Following his 2006 SUU graduation with majors in Biology/Zoology and Chemistry, Ryan graduated from the U of U School of Medicine in 2010 and finished his internal medicine residency at the Oregon Health & Science University in 2013. He completed two fellowships at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, one in cardiovascular disease and the other in advanced echocardiography, and then completed a third fellowship in cardiac advanced imaging at the Oregon Health & Science University.

While several SUU professors influenced Ryan’s academic experience, one in particular (who recently passed away) had a special impact.

“Suzanne Larson taught an instrumental and widely applicable class on the topic of critical thinking that still benefits me every day,” he says. “She was such a great mentor!”

Ryan liked everything about SUU, including meeting life-long friends and learning from roommates, flatmates, classmates, friends, and neighbors.

“I have such deep respect for not only these folks, but my professors and administrators,” he says. “I loved that there was such a push for involvement, and a niche was created for nearly everyone to become involved in one facet or another.”

Ryan’s niche included serving as a Presidential Ambassador, and participating with SUUSA, Institute, Rural Health Scholars, Thai Food Club, Honors Program, and singing in OPUS, which afforded him the unique (and terrifying) opportunity of singing at Carnegie Hall.

SUU also gave Ryan financial, social, spiritual, and academic independence.

“I learned the necessity in community for learning independence,” he explains. “I learned that while my independent goals and means for achieving the goals may be different from those around me, SUU was small enough that through my close-knit interactions with others, we could always lift each other towards those goals.”

SUU to Elementary School Teacher

Teaching has been described as one of the noblest professions in society because of the impact an educator has in shaping the character, caliber, and future of a child. That philosophy describes well the impact Kimmy Soper (’01 & ’08) has on her third grade students at Enoch Elementary in Enoch, Utah,

“I just do my thing and hope that I make someone’s world a little better each day,” she humbly says of her role as a teacher.

A graduate of Cedar High School, Kimmy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education with an early childhood education license and a concentration in physical education from SUU in 2001. She went on to earn a Master of Education degree in 2008, and has mentored countless numbers of pre-service teachers and students at SUU.

“My education at SUU prepared me to be an effective teacher prepared to enter the challenging work of education,” she says. “My favorite thing about SUU was the faculty and staff that took a personal interest in me and my education.”

A self-proclaimed “non-conformist,” Kimmy’s favorite college memories include developing life-long friendships, being the president and founding member of the Corndog Club, and organizing numerous parties for her college friends.

“I was the official party planner and provided venues for many people to meet their future spouses,” she says.

What was the most random thing that happened to her at SUU?

“I passed out in the copy center and was kindly humiliated as I was rolled through the library on a gurney in front of all my study buddies,” she responds.

While friendships, corndogs, and parties were all an important part of her SUU experience, what took place inside the classroom was exceptional, including what she learned about herself.

“I learned that I can do hard things, make friends easily, and I learned the importance of making a difference in the world,” she says.

SUU to Lives Service and Involvement

Clair and Suzanne Morris have lived lives of singular service and sterling consequence in Cedar City and the greater world, and in doing so have always championed Southern Utah University and its students. Their presence in our midst has greatly contributed to the quality of life here.

Clair, born in 1932 in Parowan, grew up working on the family farm and was an eminent champion at marbles, winning a bounty of some 20 marbles a day at “keepsies.” To this day he maintains an immense collection of his winnings. At Parowan High, he was a multi-sport athlete and student body president, went on to the College of Southern Utah (SUU), and in 1954 began a 33-year career in education that began with him teaching and serving as principal in a variety of schools. Those included several of Iron County’s elementary schools and BYU’s laboratory school as well as Cedar High. He spent a year at SUSC working in student services before beginning an 18-year career as superintendent of Iron County schools and is most proud of his championing of individualized instruction in the district. He earned a master’s degree from USU and a doctorate from BYU.

Suzanne Cardon Morris, while born in Logan, grew up in Cedar City and was an active student at Cedar High. She enjoyed journeying to Parowan’s Brown Derby roller rink, where she made a few turns around the rink with a local boy named Clair, and the two were married on September 7, 1951, a few months after she graduated from high school, and have now been married for nearly 67 years. She and Clair raised four children (and now have 19 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren) and in 1971, Suzanne earned a bachelor’s degree in business education, and taught at Cedar High and Junior High. She subsequently became the secretary of SUSC Dean of Education A.W. Stephenson, and later embarked on a new career as among the first two-full-time employees of the Utah Shakespeare Festival as administrative assistant to Fred Adams and then as a stalwart of the finance area of the festival where she was a pivotal figure in the vaunted program’s growth.

In retirement, the Morrises run their farm, which they purchased from Clair’s father in 1977, and produce some 300 tons of hay per year. Highly active in University activities, they enjoy Thunderbird sports as well as campus cultural events. Clair served a year as president of the Alumni Association and each makes a decided contribution to the success of the SUU Emeriti Association. The couple served an LDS mission to Vladivostok, Russia, in 1995. They are proud of the fact that three of their children have graduated from SUU, that many of their grandchildren have attended, and that they now have a great-grandchild who is a Thunderbird.

The Morrises were presented with the Carmen Rose Hepworth Alumni Award during the 2018 Thunderbird Awards Ceremony. 

SUU to Corporate Communications

Even though Karen Golberg Parker was born and raised in Woodland Hills, California, her ties to Cedar City and Southern Utah University run deep.

Both of her maternal great-grandfathers, Daniel Macfarlane and William Dix, were instrumental in the formation and early construction of SUU, and their names are listed on the founder’s plaque that hangs in Old Main today. Perhaps Karen’s destiny was to attend SUU all along.

SUU Founder's plaque inside
Old Main. Daniel Macfarlane
and William Dix were "hod
carriers" which means they
both carried supplies to the
bricklayers and stonemasons. 

In fact, she says today that she does not remember a time that she did not want to attend SUU. When Karen was just a little girl, her family would visit Cedar City often, primarily to attend family reunions on her mother’s side, and it was during those visits that her love of the campus and the idea of attending school here took root and began to grow.

Karen enrolled at SUU (then SUSC) in the fall of 1981 as an English literature major. While most of her friends assumed Karen would become an educator, she was not so sure. A chance job with The Thunderbird student newspaper showed her a career path that, ultimately, was perfect for her.

At the beginning of her junior year Karen’s friend Stewart Smith (’85), who was the editor-in-chief of The Thunderbird, mentioned that the newspaper was looking for a copy editor. The job entailed proofreading and editing the paper before it was sent to print. A self-proclaimed “proud grammar nerd,” Karen thought the job sounded fun and she was hired.

“This was another benefit of being a student at a smaller university,” she says. “I doubt I would have ever sought this out at a larger school.”

Karen gives a big shout-out to Larry Baker, the newspaper advisor, for teaching her so much about grammar and proofreading. She loved the entire student-newspaper experience.

After graduation, Karen began the process of finding employment. It was her writing samples and copy editing experience at SUU that landed her a job in the marketing department at a large bank in Beverly Hills, California, working in employee and corporate communications. After she had worked for the bank for a couple of years, it become apparent that her department needed more help and so the hiring process began. And who should happen to apply for that position?  None other than Karen’s friend from SUU, Stewart Smith! Karen hired Stewart (he was the most qualified for the position) and they enjoyed working together again for several years. A true example of T-Birds helping T-Birds!

Today, Karen works as a senior communications specialist in the marketing department at Loring Ward, a financial services business in California’s Silicon Valley that has more than $17 billion in assets under management. Her job entails writing and editing materials for her company’s financial advisors and their clients. The company is located in San Jose, California, but she works from home and travels to the office once a month.

Reflecting on her time as a student at SUU, Karen fondly remembers many wonderful experiences, such as attending the M*A*S*H finale party, participating in student dances, and working with the staff of The Thunderbird all night long, on many occasions, to get the newspaper to print by deadline. She keeps in touch with several of her SUU friends including Elyce Jones Schmutz (’85) and Tracy Dewsnup Page (’84), with whom she did once did a Saturday Night Live skit at a campus activity with Karen playing the part of Jane Curtin to Tracy’s Roseanne Roseannadanna. It was a hilarious and memorable college moment.   

When it came to academics, she loved her English classes, particularly those taught by Dave Lee and Sarah Solberg, along with business classes from Professor Gary Giles. Karen graduated from SUU in 1984 with a degree in English literature and a minor in business administration.

Karen married Matt Parker in 1990, and they have four children: Jessica (Gwilliam), Sarah, Will, and Alex. The family has lived in California’s Simi Valley since 1998 and will soon move to Denton, Texas, where she will continue to work from home for Loring Ward and looks forward to discovering what SUU connections await her in Texas. 

Ron Bliss to Agriculture Export Manager

Ron Bliss, like a great many alumni, belongs to a strong SUU legacy family that through the years has been an enthusiastic advocate of T-Bird Nation. 

A graduate of Spanish Fork High School and transfer student from Stevens-Henager Business College, Ron graduated from SUU (then SUSC) in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He was introduced to the institution by his father, Ferron Bliss, who attended the BAC from 1938 to 1939 and was student body president, a fullback for the Thunderbird football squad and a member of Adagio, a dance and performing group coached by LaVeve Whetten. In addition to his father, Ron’s aunt and several cousins are also members of the Thunderbird family.

Ferron Bliss, BAC Football Team

While a student, Ron was an active member of Phi Beta Lambda (PBL), a campus business club then under the direction of Professor Doris Williamson. He helped organize PBL’s Business Person of the Year Banquet, worked on homecoming floats, and decorated the organization’s Christmas tree for the annual Christmas Tree Walk. Through his PBL experience Ron created some of his closest friendships and today stays in touch with those friends. 

In 1983, Ron represented SUU at the Utah State PBL Convention/Competition winning first place in the business administration category, and was among five first-place winners from SUU that year, a record for the Thunderbirds at the time. All five individuals went on to represent the state of Utah at the national PBL convention in San Francisco that summer, and each finished in the top 10, with Ron and two others finishing in the top three in the national competition.

PBL Conference in San Francisco, CA

“It was a great way to end my college career at SUU,” he says of the experience. 

Following graduation, Ron decided to stay in Cedar City and took a job with the Leavitt Group, a step he credits for “turning him into an accountant,” which was a career path he had never anticipated. 

After several years there, Ron pursued another opportunity elsewhere but found that his heart longed for southern Utah, and so he returned, eventually landing in Enterprise, Utah, working for Holt farms in exports and, you guessed it, accounting. Ron oversees the exporting of agriculture products to the Pacific Rim, along with accounting, scheduling, safety, insurance, IT, and regulatory compliance.

Ron credits his SUU professors and their encouragement and care that taught him how to learn and how to study. Besides the aforementioned Williamson, among his favorite teachers were Richard Dotson, Dean Harold Hiskey, Vic Isbell.

He says that among the things he learned about himself at SUU is “that great things can happen when you step outside of your comfort zone and try something new and challenging.” He found that his empowering professors were ever supportive of him trying something new. 

His favorite place on campus, he says, was the War Memorial Field House (1950-1986), which held fond memories of SUSC basketball games and concerts. 

Ron Bliss Family

Ron and his wife, Trina, have two sons. His oldest, Cameron, lives in Enterprise, Utah, with his wife and three daughters, and his second son, Riley, continued the family legacy and attended SUU for his first year of college and currently attends the University of Arizona. 

An Enterprise volunteer EMT for 18 years, Ron loves serving in his community and has a special interest in amateur radios. He holds an Amateur Extra Class license that spun from a licensing class at SUU.

Ron comes back to campus often and maintains a strong connection to the University, cheering on the Thunderbird football team at both home and away games while proudly wearing his SUU red. For the last several years, he and his two college roommates Scott Johnson (’84) and John Reidhead (’83) make an annual pilgrimage to SUU for homecoming.