TBT: Utah State University

This weeks Throwback goes back to our time at USU! Josh graduated high school a year before me, and he attended Montana State University that first year. His schedule worked out so that he could faithfully spend 3 day weekends in West with me all year long! He was such a great boyfriend :) That was a tough year to be apart. It was my senior year, and most of my friends graduated with Josh. I was still recovering from my ACL repair, so sports was a battle. One weekend when Josh came back, my mom told him, "I am so glad you are here! Janae' is much happier with you around." I sure did love that boy! (And still do of course :)
I wanted nothing more than to get out of West and move on with my life! I knew I wanted to attend college out of state. It seems like everybody from West goes to MSU, and I wasn't interested in living in Missoula to attend U of M. So, that meant out of state. I didn't care for any school in Idaho or Wyoming. NDSU in Fargo, ND was an option, but we weren't crazy about it. I had never pictured myself living in Utah, but Josh and I took a road trip to visit his dad in Brigham City. I hadn't spent very much time in Utah, but I certainly wasn't ruling it out. We spent the weekend with his family, and when we left, I suggested we drive through Logan to see Utah State University. It is only a 30 min drive from BC, so it wasn't a big deal. We happened to be going through during the fall while all of the trees were changing in the canyon. For those of you who know the area, you know we got tricked into loving it! Logan is a beautiful town all year round, but they still get a bit of a winter. The summer can get really hot too. USU is just lucky we happened to drive through during the 2 weeks of fall haha! I applied and got early acceptance within a month. Josh applied for a transfer and got in too. It was kind of weird how it all happened, but it just made sense. It was only a 4 hour drive from West, so too far for lunch, but not too far for a weekend trip home. Also, Josh had family 30 minutes away, so that made us feel a lot better about being somewhere totally new. Looking back, I am so glad we decided to take a leap of faith and become Aggies!

Our first year at USU we lived on campus at the Living and Learning Center (LLC).

It was a brand new dorm community right next to the Taggart Student Center (TSC). The apartments had 4 shared bedrooms and 2 private rooms with a shared living room and kitchenette. Josh shared a room with Michael Anderson. Then Jamie Markosian, Jacob Mote, Ryan Tucker, Matt McGee, Michael McHuch, and Jake McNeil all lived in his apartment as well. I shared a room with April Reynolds for one week before she decided to move in with some other friends. The other girls in my apartment were Hannah Millson, Baley Kynaston, Cara Anderson, Erica Jorgenson, Lauren Sullivan, and Tori Geddes. Tori, Lauren, and Baley were all return students, so they knew each other already. We made so many memories in the LLC! It was so fun to have so many roommates. There was always something going on! It did get a little annoying, but we wouldn't change it for anything! Tori decided to come up with nicknames for everyone. Hannah didn't have any nicknames, so Tori googled it. One of the things that came up was Hanky. We all thought it was pretty funny, and for some reason it stuck! That is how Hannah Millson became Hanky! I can't imagine calling her anything else :) I also became known as Mama Nae. I stepped right into my classic role of caretaker :) No matter where I am, I seem to always be cleaning, organizing, listening, or whatever else somebody might need! That is who I am :) Jamie gave Josh the nickname J-Bone. Michael McHugh became McQ. I guess you could say we made some friends for life! Hanky, Jamie, and McQ were all in our wedding party!

LLC Roommate Reunion!
Baley, Cara, Tori, Me, Hanky (NP Erica & Lauren)

Back Row: Jamie Markosian, Josh
Middle: Ryan, Michael Anderson, Jacob Mote
Front: Michael McHugh, Jake McNeil, Matt McGee

Josh & Michael divided their room up :) 

The first night in the LLC, Hanky and I were both woken up by pounding on the front door. We weren't sure what to do. We were both scared little college students. I just stayed in my room and listened. Hanky eventually opened the door to find Tori standing there. She insisted she lived here and had just forgotten her key. That was the first memory of our life in the LLC! We often went to lunch and dinner together with any or all of Josh and I's roommates. We lived right across from the Marketplace. It is a big cafeteria with different stations of food. It wasn't too bad for cafeteria food, but I think we can all agree the breadsticks were the best! We would often grab plates full and share them. I loved having a smoothie bar too! The salad bar was pretty decent, and there was one station that had breakfast every Wednesday. The other cafeteria, the Junction, was on the other side of campus. We would go there for midnight pizza way too often! There are many more memories from the LLC that I could share, but I will save that for some other time... maybe ;)

 

 

Josh & Jamie doing the 36" Pizza Eating Challenge!

By the second semester, I knew I wanted to change my major from Accounting, but I didn't know to what. I hated the business school. The Hunstman School of Business is very well known, especially in Utah, but it was too business focused for me. Everyone was in it for themselves. Every class was devoted to bettering yourself and your career. There was no compassion or camaraderie. I didn't love the material either. We had to stay in Utah that first summer to gain residency. Josh was already a resident because of his dad, but I had to work and live there for a full year. I took that opportunity to take summer classes and try to decide what to do. I found the Family, Consumer, and Human Development department in the course catalog. It is under the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education. I had never heard of FCHD before. There were 4 emphases to choose from, and it sounded like something I would love. I took a few FCHD classes that first summer, and I fell in love. A lot of people say that FCHD is just a Utah Mom degree, but I disagree. Yes, it would be a wonderful degree to have if you are a stay at home mom. After all, it is centered around family and human development. BUT, there is a lot of very beneficial information to learn as well. I chose the Family Finance emphasis. Basically it is for non-profit financial counselors. I knew I didn't want to do that for the rest of my life, but I did like what I could learn about managing finances for a family. I  have always liked the idea of working at a bank, especially as a loan officer. I love to help people make their dreams come true. The idea of using my degree in Family Finance to help people manage home mortgages seems like the perfect fit! I don't know if I will end up becoming a Loan Officer or not, only time will tell :)

After the first year, Josh had to declare a major as well. He had no idea what he might want to be when he grew up. Until we started dating, he never even considered college as an option. He planned to continue painting houses and living on the beach in Hawaii :) I am so glad he listened to my subtle nudges to get a degree! I didn't care what it was, I just felt it was extremely important to have a degree. Josh worked for Yellowstone National Park as a laborer the summer before we moved to Utah. He loved doing manual labor and being outside. We looked into the College of Natural Resources and found the Recreation Resource Management degree. It was all about managing the resources and people in the park service. The summer we lived in Utah, he worked at Bear Lake State Park as a Ranger Aid. It was around that time that he decided he wanted to be a Park Ranger. Which eventually led us here to NC!

Josh's roommate Jamie Markosian was a football player. We loved going to the games to watch him play. USU is known for their crowd! Everyone wears their Game Day Shirts, and the student section is basically all standing. The Scotsman is the fight song. The whole crowd sings along, and it is a great time! Watch the video below to see how much school spirit USU has! We are anxious to see if Jamie will go pro! I am sure our time at the USU football games is not over, but it sure won't be the same without have a friend to cheer on!

#54

USU Marching Band

Old Main Hill is the popular icon for USU. The University is built on top of a hill. Old Main is the original building at the top of the famous stairs. A lot of people workout on the stairs and the hill. They are killer! The trees are so beautiful in the fall! It was a great place to relax or study :)

View of the Valley from the Parking Garage

Old Main (The "A" lights up at night!)

The Quad is a big grassy area that was donated to the school on the condition that it be kept as a recreational space for students. Twice a year there is a carnival/fair there. There are many other events held on the Quad throughout the year as well. Hanky and I spent a lot of time on that grass :)

The Quad during winter :(

There is a famous "A" platform in between the Quad and Old Main. On every full moon and Homecoming, there is an event called True Aggie night. Everyone gets in line, and you have to kiss on the platform to become a true Aggie. They even hand out business card sized certificates! Josh and I become True Aggies on Homecoming night that first year :) Down by the stadium, there is a giant bull statue.

 If you run across the field, ride the bull, and run back (all while naked), without getting arrested, you can become an Ultimate Aggie. That is one tradition we chose to ignore :) (Public Nudity carries a sentence of registering as a sex offender. Yikes!!)

Another USU tradition is Aggie Ice Cream! The Nutrition department makes the famous Aggie Ice Cream right on campus. It is so creamy and yummy! They have become so popular it is sold in most of the grocery stores now too, but it is just not the same as getting an Aggie Ice Cream Cone on campus! They give it away at a lot of school events on the Quad or the Patio. Aggie Blue Mint is the best!

Most of my classes were held in the Family Life building.

Family Life Building

It is right on the Quad. I spent so many hours in those classrooms! There is also a kitchen for Home Economics classes, so it usually smelled Yummy. It was a great time I will never forget with so many wonderful people! My second year, I was initiated into Phi Upsilon Omicron. It's an honor society for FCHD students. We completed a service project every semester.

2012

2013

I also headed the tree decorating activity at Christmas time!



As part of my major, I also worked as an intern at the Family Life Center at the bottom of Old Main Hill.

Family Life Center

They offer financial and family counseling.
I also and the opportunity to work as an Undergraduate Teaching Fellow for Lucy Delgadillo's Housing Class. I never thought I would enjoy teaching so much! I loved to see the students enjoying the material that I lived and breathed for so long :) That was an opportunity I will never forget!

Josh spent most of his time in the Natural Resources buildings. There are two buildings connected by an over walk. They held a lot of activities pertaining to Nature. One of Josh's favorites was the day a lady brought her pet wolf! Josh was a member of the Student Organization and Society for Natural Resources. They had a lot of fun activities throughout the year that took them out into nature :)

The library was a very nice building as well. they have an electronic book retrieval system! It is pretty amazing. They also have study rooms you could reserve, and the top floors were quite floors. Josh spent a lot of time studying there. I liked to meet there with different study groups as well. The Quad Side Cafe is the coffee shop inside the library. We drank a lot of coffee and ate a lot of bagels from there! I still think they are the best bagels around!

The Hub is another place we loved to study and hang out. It is a fast food cafeteria in the TSC. The bakery there makes wonderful bread with tons of different topping choices! Cinnamon Wheat Bread with Nutella is my favorite :)

On Tuesday's the Quick Stop, a gas station type store in the TSC, served Scotsman Dogs. They are a hamburger in the shape of a hot dog with cheese in the middle. Every Aggie has to have at least one :)

Our time at USU were some of the best times of our lives! We met so many great people, have a lot of fun memories, and we will never forget those 3 1/2 years!

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011

Chili Cook Off and Super Bowl 2011

Bear Lake Ranger Aid

Fries at midnight gone wrong! OOPS!

Game Day Shirts! 

Halloween 2012

Josh in camo :)

Christmas Village on a college budget!

*Disclaimer: these are not all my photos. I in no way claim them to be mine. I just want to remember these times :)